Please don't hurt me again
by HermioneLumos
Summary: When Nick and Zoe's daughter becomes a victim of bullying, will they be able to stop it before its too late?
1. Chapter 1

This story takes place when Jess is a little younger than the other stories... she is 13... x

"Im actually starving." Jess said to her two friends, Emily and Chloe. It was nearly lunch time and the three of them were sat in science learning about rocks.  
"I know. Me too." Emily whispered, and her stomach rumbled. "I want fooooood."  
"Me too." Chloe said. "How long until lunch?"  
"Chloe." The teacher said, catching her talking over him. "Name the three types of rock for me."  
"Um, sedimentary..." She said, looking to her friends.  
"Metamorphic.." Jess mouthed to her.  
"Metamorphic..." She said, recieving a nod from her teacher.  
"And..." The teacher said, pressing for the next one.  
"Igneous." Emily whispered.  
"Come on Chloe we don't have all day..." The teacher said.  
"Igneous! Igneous." She said, and the teacher looked at her.  
"Right." He said. "Next time, I want you looking forward and not at your friends."  
"Sorry." She said, and looked at the clock. The bell would go any minute now.

The bell rung and they all left the classroom and headed for the canteen. They were one of the first there, so they got in line and soon enough they had their food. The menu today was fish and chips, their favourite.  
"Lets get that table over there." Chloe said, looking at the one in the corner.  
"No we can't." Emily said. "Thats where all 'those' people sit." Those people being the popular ones. They would kill them if that sat there.  
"And? It doesn't make it their table." Chloe argued. "Come on."  
"Chloe!" Jess said, running after her. "Do you want them to go over and shout at us?"  
"They won't." She said. "We got here first." She plopped down onto the chair and put her food down on the table. Jess looked around to make sure that the popular people weren't there. She cautiously sat down and began to eat her food. Her and Emily sat there, paranoid, until the coast was clear for a good five minutes. They began to relax after a while, and started to enjoy their lunch.

"Well well well. Sitting at our table?" Someone said behind Jess. Jess panicked a little inside and gave Chloe a 'I told you so' look.  
"It- Its not your table." Chloe said. "And we were here first."  
"Oh really?" The boy said. His name was Ryan. He was big built, muscly, and he had a very loud voice. He had a gang of equally violent looking people stood behind him.  
"Yeah!" Chloe said, and Jess and Emily just sat there quietly.  
"Im going to try and say this nicely. Move. Please." He said, raising his voice at the end.  
"Why should we?" Chloe said, and Jess wished she would just shut her mouth for once.  
"Chloe, lets go!" Jess said, standing up.  
"No!" She said.  
"Listen to speccy here." Ryan said. "Go with her."  
"Speccy?" Jess said. She got new glasses the other day. "Speccy!?"  
"Yeah." He said, picking up her chips.  
"Those are mine." Jess spat at him.  
"Not any more, speccy." He said, putting one in his mouth. "Eww. Vinegar."  
"Can I have them back?" Jess asked, and to her surprise, he nodded.  
"Sure." He said, grabbing her top and pouring the chips down. Emily and Chloe sat there, gobsmacked. "Now I suggest you get out of our way."

Jess ran through the canteen, ignoring the laughter from everyone else and went straight to the bathroom. It was empty, so she locked herself in a cubicle to get rid of the chips. She began to cry. Sometimes she really wished Chloe wouldn't do things like that.

She stopped crying when she heard the door open.  
"Jess? You in here?" She heard Emily's voice.  
"No." She said back as she tried to stop crying. "Chloe's still there. She didn't come with me."  
"Good." Jess said, opening the door. "I wish she wouldn't open her big mouth sometimes." She grabbed some tissue and looked in the mirror to sort out her make up.  
"Me too." Emily said. "That was horrible."  
"Yeah it was." Jess said. "At least you didn't get called names or get grease all down your shirt. Look at it! How am I going to hide that from my parents?"  
"I don't know." Emily replied.  
"And calling me speccy?" Jess said, taking off her glasses. "Im asking my mum for contacts."  
"Don't listen to them Jess." Emily said. "Your glasses are fine!"  
"No they're not." Jess said, putting them in her bag. "Im not wearing them."  
"Alright." Emily said. "But next lesson starts soon."  
"I don't want to go." Jess said. "Everyone in that class was in the canteen. My shirt is dirty too."  
"Ignore them Jess." Emily said. "Come on, lets go."  
"I look horrible." she said, looking in the mirror. "Do I look like i've been crying?"  
"A little." Emily said, being honest. "But it will go away by the time we get there."  
"Okay." Jess said, glad they were going early. No one else ever got there early so they would have the classroom to themselves and the teacher.

They got there, and the teacher was there. They knocked on the door.  
"Can we come in?" Emily asked.  
"Sure!" The teacher said. She taught english which wasn't one of their best subjects but she was a nice teacher. She was very understanding.

Jess and Emily sat down at their table and Jess stared into space, thinking about what just happened.  
"You alright Jess?" Miss Rowling asked, **(hehe JK Rowling inspired the name!) **seeing the red blotches around her eyes.  
"Im fine." She whispered, tears building up in her eyes.  
"What happened to you shirt?"  
"Nothing." Jess said.  
"Little mishap in the canteen." Emily said, seeing that Jess didn't want to talk about it. "Its nohing."  
"You can tell me you know." Miss Rowling said. "Thats what us teachers are here for."  
"Look. I will tell you but you can't tell anyone." Jess said. "Please."  
"I won't." Miss Rowling said, sitting on their table.  
"I don't want my parents to find out." Jess said, and Miss Rowling nodded. "Well we were in the canteen and Chloe told us to sit in the corner but thats where Ryan and that lot sit."  
"Right." She replied.  
"It was alright for a while because they didn't come in until half way through lunch. But then they told us to move and Chloe started saying stuff like 'Why should we?' and stuff like that. Then I stood up to leave and told Chloe to come on, and then Ryan said 'Listen to speccy here." Jess said, a tear falling down her face. "He called me speccy like three times."  
"Thats not very nice." She replied. "There is nothing wrong with wearing glasses." She says because she wears them too.  
"No. So I got angry, and they took my chips and stuffed them down my shirt and the whole canteen was laughing at me." Her voice wobbled towards the end.  
"I really think you should tell someone who can sort it out." Miss Rowling said.  
"No!" Jess said. "I don't want to be seen as the snitch or anything. If I ignore them they will stop."  
"Are you sure?" Miss Rowling wasn't sure.  
"Yeah." Jess wiped her eye with the tissue she kept from earlier. "Please just don't tell my parents. They will make such a huge fuss."  
"If thats what you want." She shrugged, and the bell went. She got Jess a new tissue. "Here."  
"Thanks." Jess said and wiped her eyes, before the rest of the class walked in.

**(I know this seems like it has nothing to do with casualty but trust me, it will! Jess is Zoe and Nicks daughter, so it will include them in the next chapter.)**


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone just left Jess and Emily to it, and Chloe sat on a different table knowing that she had caused this all in the first place. Jess couldn't concentrate on her work very well, but Miss Rowling understood.

The end of the day finally came and Jess had to walk to the hospital where her parents worked. Both were doctors; one was clinical lead and one was the trauma lead. Nick Jordan was her father and Zoe Jordan was her mother, and they were both quite high up in the ED, meaning they had quite a bit of money incoming.

She walked through the front door and was greeted by Noel at the main desk before making her way into the staff room. She made herself comfortable on the sofa and got out her phone. She had a text from Emily.

'What are u gonna tell ur parents? x' it said, and Jess wracked her brain for an answer. After a few minutes, an idea came to her.  
'I'm gonna tell them that someone walked into me and their chips went on me' She replied, and put her phone down as the door opened.  
"Hey." Sam said to her as she walked in.  
"Hey." Jess replied, putting a smile on her face.  
"How was your day?" Sam asked, sitting next to her. Jess had made friends with a lot of the doctors and nurses now that she had to come here everyday after school.  
"It was alright I guess." Jess shrugged. "It was school, no one really enjoys it."  
"True, true." Sam said. "I never really enjoyed it either." Jess smiled as a reply. "Id better get back. Your dad won't be happy if he can't find me." She winked.  
"Haha." Jess said. "Have fun." Sam never failed to cheer her up.

She stayed in the staff room and got started on her homework while she waited for her parents shifts to finish. At five oclock, Zoe walked in first, and tutted at the state of her shirt.  
"Im sorry!" Jess said. "I walked into someone and they spilt their chips on me."  
"Well that was a bit silly wasn't it." Zoe said, shaking her head as she opened her locker and got out her bag.  
"I know, sorry." Jess said, trying to hide her real emotions.  
"Don't worry about it. You have plenty at home and that will wash out." Zoe said.  
"Yeah." Jess replied, picking up her bag and walking out of the ED with her mother. Nick was already waiting in their car. Jess got into the back and Zoe into the front passenger side.

"Did you have a good day at school?" Nick asked Jess as they drove out of sight of the hospital.  
"Yeah it was alright." Jess said, playing with her nails. Nick looked at her through the rear mirror.  
"Whats up?" He asked, and Zoe turned to look at her.  
"What? Oh nothing!" She said. "Just my shirt got dirty so I had to walk around all afternoon with grease stains all down in." She sighed.  
"How did it get dirty?" Nick asked.  
"Oh I kinda walked into someone and they spilt their chips down me." She passed it off laughing.  
"So you made a new enemy?" Nick laughed with her.  
"Something like that yeah." She laughed, and stared out of the window until they got home.

"Whats for dinner?" She asked, as she dropped her school bag off inside the door before making herself comfy on the sofa.  
"Don't know yet. Im now going to look." Zoe said, opening the freezer to see what they had. She then looked in the cupboard. "Pasta bake? Does that sound alright?"  
"Yeah." Jess shouted and put on the TV. She flicked through the channels and settled with The fresh prince of bel air.  
"You watching that again?" Nick asked as he walked in with his slippers on.  
"Yeah, its good." Jess said.  
"Move up." He said as she sat up, giving him room to sit down.  
"Please." Jess said sarcastically. "What happened to your manners?"  
"Funny." Nick said so her and tickled her feet. She kicked out and got his thigh.  
"Ouch, watch it." he said, rubbing it.  
"If you tickle me, I am not responsible for your injuries." She said and Nick looked at her with evils, making her laugh.

They ate their dinner whilst watching Friends as Nick and Zoe had had enough of the fresh prince. When they were done, Jess went to her room to do her homework and put the fresh prince back on on her TV.

Half way through doing her homework, she heard a knock on her bedroom door, and her mother walked in with a cup of tea for her.  
"Here." Zoe said, putting it down on her desk.  
"Aww thank you!" Jess said. She loved tea. Zoe always brought her one as she knew how much she liked it.  
"No problem." Zoe replied. "What homework are you doing?"  
"Art." Jess said, and she looked at her half finished drawing of Emma Watson.  
"Is that Emma Watson?" Zoe asked, and Jess loved that she knew who it was.  
"Yeah." Jess smiled.  
"Its very good." Zoe said. "Let me see it when its finished."  
"I will." Jess said, and she picked up her phone as it buzzed.

'What did they say?" It read, from Emily. Zoe looked at it in confusion.  
"What did who say?" She asked, and Jess sighed.  
"I haven't asked you yet." She said, thinking of an excuse.  
"Asked me what?"  
"I was going to ask if I could have contact lenses." She said. "You know, instead of my glasses."  
"Oh right." Zoe said. "You only just got those. Keep them for a bit and if you still want one, we will see."  
"Okay, thanks." Jess said, smiling. "Thanks again for the tea."  
"Its fine." Zoe said, and left the room, leaving her alone to text Emily back.

'They believed me, its fine. x' She wrote and sent it, and got on to finish her drawing.

"You wanted to see it?" Jess said holding her drawing and holding the mug in her other hand. She gave the drawing to her mother and put the mug in the kitchen.  
"Its so good!" Zoe said.  
"Let me see." Nick said. "Oh, is it um... Ozzy?" She saw his eyes.  
"Ha ha." She said sarcastically. "Do you really not know who it is?"  
"Yeah, I can't remember her name. She's in Harry Potter though."  
"Yeah thats her." Jess said, pleased with her drawing. "Her name is Emma Watson, and she plays Hermione."  
"Thats the one." Nick said. "It is very good."  
"Thank you." She replied with a smile.  
"Your teacher will be very impressed." Zoe said, handing it back to her.  
"I hope she will be. Took me a few hours to finish that."  
"Im not surprised." Zoe replied. "Its so detailed." Jess took the drawing from her mother and was about to go back upstairs when Nick spoke up.  
"We are going to watch a film in a minute. Want to watch it?"  
"What film?" She asked.  
"The Crazies." He replied. "Its good."  
"I will watch a bit of it." Jess said. "I need a shower first."  
"Do you want us to wait for you?" He asked.  
"Nah you can put it on. I won't be too long anyway." She said.  
"Okay." Nick replied, and she went upstairs to shower.

When she was done, she checked her facebook again and was surprised when she had new message in her inbox. She clicked it and her heart started beating fast when she saw who it was from.

From: Ryan Harding  
To: Jess Jordan  
Subject: Tomorrow.

I want to talk to you tomorrow before school. Meet me behind the bike sheds. Bring anyone and you will be in big trouble.

Jess gulped and tears stung at her eyes as she read it. She would have to meet him there, because she knew what he was like. She wiped her eyes before heading downstairs to watch the film and take her mind off of tomorrow.


	3. Chapter 3

**(There will be swearing in this chapter and it might be graphic towards the end... just warning you all. x)**

Jess couldn't sleep all night. She was just thinking about what Ryan had said to her, and she was trying to think of what she could do about it.

She could tell her parents, but then they would moan to the school and she would be seen as a snitch and the bullying would continue. Or she could take what was coming and suffer in silence. She knew how her parents would react so she thought that the second option was a lot better.

When it was nearing dawn, she suddenly had an idea. Since she gets to school early anyway as her parents went to work earlier, she could go straight to english as she had that first, and then Ryan would never find her. But she was just putting it off. Ryan would get her one day surely.

Her alarm went off and she got out of bed. She put on her uniform and straightened her hair before going downstairs where her parents were already eating breakfast. Jess yawned as she sat at the table, and Nick looked up from the morning paper.  
"Tired?" He asked, seeing her slightly pale face.  
"Yeah." She said as Zoe placed a cup of tea down infront of her. "Thanks."  
"Why?" Nick asked.  
"Just couldn't sleep." Jess shrugged and took a sip of her tea.  
"Do you have a headache or anything? You look a bit pale." Zoe asked, looking at her with concern.  
"Mum i'm fine, seriously." Jess said as Zoe put a hand on her daughters forehead. Sometimes she hated the fact that both her parents were doctors.  
"Okay." She said. "Make sure you are, because we will both be working late tonight so you will have to walk home."  
"Okay." Jess said. She didn't mind walking home every so often, but it did take her nearly an hour. She got up and made two pieces of toast before getting her school bag ready.

"Are we all ready?" Nick asked as Jess was getting her shoes on.  
"Yep." She said, and they headed out to the car.

Pulling up to the school at around eight, Jess got out after saying good bye to her parents and walked up to the main gates. She looked around to see if Ryan was there, but the coast was clear.

She walked up to the english block and into her classroom where the teacher wasn't there yet. Jess went in to the class room anyway as her teacher knew she got there early every morning. She got out her picture of Emma for art and began making finishing touches.

She looked at the clock and realised that Ryan would probably be waiting for her. She was thinking about all the possible outcomes of her going there, and she was glad she made the decision to stay away from him. She had began to cry while day dreaming and didn't even realise. She realised then Miss Rowling walked in through the door and saw her.  
"Jess?" She said, rushing over and kneeling down next to her. "Are you alright?"  
"Yeah i'm fine." Jess said, smiling. "I was day dreaming."  
"Here." She handed her a tissue. "Is this about yesterday?"  
"Sort of." Jess said.  
"Do you want to talk about it?"  
"I don't know." She said, looking towards the door with her paranoia. "I guess."  
"Okay. I'm listening."  
"I got a message from Ryan on facebook and he told me to meet him this morning." She explained. "I didn't go. I was just thinking about what he could have done if I did go. I didn't realise i'd started crying."  
"Oh." She replied. She didn't know what to say. "Do you know what he wanted?"  
"No." Jess wiped her eyes with the tissue.  
"I really think you should tell someone Jess." Miss Rowling said.  
"I can't." She shook her head. "I'll be classed as a snitch."  
"But it will be a lot better for you if you do." She said and tried to change the subject. "Did you draw that?"  
"Yeah." Jess replied.  
"Its great." She replied. "I love it."  
"You do? Its for my art homework."  
"Its so detailed!"  
"Thats why my mum said." Jess smiled.  
"You will have to draw me one day." Miss Rowling said and Jess smiled.  
"Sure." She said, and the bell went.

"So Ryan messaged you last night?" Emily asked at lunch. They were sat in the corner furthest away from the one they sat at yesterday.  
"Yeah." Jess said. "He wanted to meet me outside the bike sheds first thing."  
"You didn't go, did you?" Emily asked.  
"No way." Jess shook her head. "Why would I?"  
"I don't know." Emily said.  
"Where's Chloe anyway?" Jess asked.  
"She felt bad. She told me last night. She's sorry." Emily said.  
"Well she can be sorry until she apologises to me." Jess said. "I ain't going to her."  
"Okay." Emily said looking over to the table. "Lets go. They are here." She looked at the group and they were looking over at them.  
"Oh my god lets go." Jess said, as they fled the canteen.

It was the end of the day and it was time for Jess to walk home. She put in her ear phones and began to walk, cautious of where she was going.

She was walking down a familiar road with little alleys going down between each house, but she knew better and walked along the side of the road in full view. She heard footsteps behind her, took out the earphones and looked behind her. There was nothing there.

She left out the ear phones and picked up her pace and she heard laughter. She began to run, but she felt someone grab her from behind. She tried to scream but the hand over her face was stopping her from making any sound at all. Her phone dropped on the floor and one person stood on it before they dragged her into the alley way.

They took their hand away from her mouth when they got to a quiet part of the alley.  
"Get off me!" Jess screamed,struggling against their grip. They threw her into a corner by a fence going into someone's back garden. She hit the fence face first, and had a cut on her lip that was bleeding quite a bit.  
"Who do you think you are, speccy?" They said, and she saw it was Ryan and his gang. "That was our fucking table. And you talk back to me?!"  
"Im sorry." Jess cried. "I won't ever do it again."  
"And you told that bitch Emily didn't you." He spat, holding her wrists so tight that she nearly gasped in pain.  
"No." She cried. "I didn't."  
"You fucking did." He said. "The people next to you heard your whole conversation."  
"Im sorry." She cried as he kicked her in the chest. Sharp pain rippled through out, and it was harder to breath.  
"Your gonna pay, speccy. You fucking hear me?"  
"Please don't hurt me." She said, bottom lip quivering uncontrollably, and he punched her to shut up. She could see stars in her vision as he repeatedly hit her head. "Please stop."  
"Why? You have to pay for what you fucking did." He said, and hit her again. Her vision was becoming dark as he kicked her in the chest again. She nearly blacked out, but to her horror she felt him ripping her clothes.  
"No. Please." She cried.  
"Shut the fuck up." He shouted, continuously pulled her clothes apart. She gave in. She knew she couldn't beat him. She struggled though with all her might, hoping he would hit her again to put her out of her misery. He did so, and she was out like a light, unaware of what the gang were doing to her.


	4. Chapter 4

When they had finished with her, they left her in the alley way out of sight of everyone. She was still out cold, and now it was nearing night time.

"Nick." Zoe said, walking up to him in the ED. "I've called Jess like five times andeach time it went to voice mail."  
"Im sure she is fine, Zo." Nick said to her. "We have left her before and she has been fine."  
"But when does she ever have her phone off?" She asked, worried. "She isn't answering the house phone either." Nick had to admit. It was weird that Jess wasn't answering any phone calls. She never put her phone down at home.  
"Well, we are going to go home at ten. Im sure we will find her at home." Nick said, completely unaware of what had really happened.

She woke up slowly and took in her surroundings. She was in an unfamiliar alley way, and she didn't know why she was there. She looked down at her clothes and saw a ripped, bloody mess. Her heart beat sped up, and she was too shocked to cry. She screamed out in pain as she tried to move so she tried to stay calm. She struggled to put her hands in her pockets and find her phone but she couldn't find it.

She heard movement behind the fence she was leaning against, but she felt it too painful to move. The only thing she could do was cry.

Miss Rowling was just going out into her garden to get the washing in that she had put out to hopefully get dry before the sun went down.  
"Jen." Her husband shouted. "Did you wash my jeans?"  
"Yeah they are here!" She shouted back, and began to get all the washing in.

She paused, as she heard someone shout down the end of the garden.  
"James?" She shouted into the house. "James?"  
"Yeah?" Her husband came out into the garden.  
"Theres someone down there." Jenny said.  
"Is there?"  
"Shh." She said, and they heard a cry.  
"There is." James replied.  
"You get the washing in, I will go and see who it is." Miss Rowling said, and she went down the bottom of the garden.

She searched and searched, but she couldn't see anyone.  
"Hello?" She called out, and walked over to the gate that led to the alley way. "Is anyone there?" She heard the crying stop. She walked towards where the noise was, and was shocked at what she saw.

She saw her student, Jess, covered in dirty and blood, covered in bruises and ripped clothes. She looked absolutely terrified.  
"Jess?" She looked up at her name being called. She tried to stand and run but the just fell over again. Miss Rowling slowly walked up to her and tried to help her up. She flinched so Miss Rowling let go. She looked at her battered body. She had a bruised face and a cut lip, and also had a cut on her throat which was bleeding quite a bit. Jess saw her looking and put her hand to her throat, and she cried out as she felt it bleeding. "Jess. Its alright." She whispered not to scare her.

"Jen, did you see anyone?" James came around the corner and Jenny shhed him. He saw Jess and stared. "Oh my god."  
"Call an ambulance." She instructed in a whisper, and turned when Jess grabbed her arm.  
"N...no." She shook. "No ambulance." She didn't want her parents to see her like this.  
"I have to." She whispered and put her hand on top of Jess's. She flinched and pulled away and tried to move again but she grabbed her chest as pain shot through it. She cried even harder.  
"M..my par..ents are d..doctors." She said and pushed herself harder against the wall next to her.  
"I know hunny." Miss Rowling said, trying to calm her down. "But you need treatment."

"Ambulance is on its way." James said, walking around the corner.  
"Thanks." Jenny said and turned to Jess before standing up and walking towards her husband.  
"What happened to her?" James whispered to his wife.  
"I think she was attacked." Jenny said. "Look at her."  
"Is it possible, that this was rape?" He asked and he saw his wife sigh.  
"I think so." She said, tears in her eyes. "She's only thirteen though!"  
"We can't do anything now can we." James replied. "I will go out front and make sure they come through here. Will you be alright here?"  
"Yeah." She replied, and watched her husband walk up the garden.

She walked back over to the frightened girl in the alley and knelt down next to her. She looked dazed.  
"Jess?" She asked and Jess snapped her head towards her her. "You're safe now." She slowly edged towards her but Jess tried to get away again. Miss Rowling didn't go any closer. "Listen. Sirens. You're going to be okay."  
"No.." She cried, tired now.  
"You're going to be fine."  
"No." She said, stronger. She didn't want to go to the hospital.  
"You have to go Jess. You are injured." Miss Rowling said, looking at how frightened she was. "Who did this to you?"

She thought about it for a while but then she started gettingflashbacks of what happened. She grabbed her head to try and stop it. She began to sob as she shut her eyes to try and stop the pictures. She heard sirens in the distance which made her panic.  
"No!" She sobbed with her head in her hands and bringing her knees to her chest, ignoring the pain that it caused her. It caused her vision to go a little blurry but it didn't matter to her.

Some time later, they both heard footsteps in the distance before they saw the yellowy green of reflective jackets. Jess recognised them.  
"No no please no." She cried even louder than before. Her parents were going to find out everything and there was no way she could stop it.  
"Where is she?" The woman asked, and the man pointed.  
"Down there." He said. "I warn you. She is very distressed."  
"Okay." She said, and walked up to Miss Rowling and the girl.

As soon as Dixie set eyes on the young girl, she instantly saw what was causing the distress. It was obvious that she was a victim of sexual assault. The bruised wrists and the ripped clothes proved it.

Jess tried to look down but Dixie put her hand to Jess's chin. Jess flinched and pushed the hand away with such speed that it made Dixie jump. Jess looked up and looked straight into her eyes, knowing it was a mistake. Dixie tried to hide her shock. She walked slowly over to Jeff who was waiting with the trolley.  
"Oh my God." She said, trying to stop tears falling from her eyes.  
"Whats the matter Princess?" Jeff asked, seeing her pale face.  
"Its Jess." She said, and Jeff flicked his eyes over to the girl.  
"No it can't be." He said, staring, making Jess feel even worse.  
"It is Jeff!" Dixie whispered. "Thats Nick and Zoe's daughter!"


	5. Chapter 5

"Okay Jess." Dixie said, walking over whilst trying to keep professional. "We are going to take you to Holby, alright?" She put a hand out to Jess but Jess looked fearful and scooted along the floor away from Dixie.  
"No." She shook her head. "M...my mum...my d...dad."  
"Jess we need to get you checked out." Dixie said, inching slower. Jess shook her head and put it in her hands as she tried to stop it from pounding.  
"No." She said, sobbing again, and Dixie slowly walked up to her.  
"Come here." Dixie said, trying to hug her. Jess made no effort to move, so Dixie put her arm around Jess which made her shake with fear, but she didn't try to push her away.

Miss Rowling was watching on with her husbands arm around her. She had tears falling down her face.  
"Don't cry." James said to her. "Its not like you know her."  
"But I do. I teach her." Jenny replied. "And I have a pretty good idea who did this."  
"You do?"  
"Yeah." She replied. "She was upset the other day because of some older boy putting chips down her shirt and making everyone laugh at her."  
"That doesn't mean it was him, love."  
"But then this morning, she told me that he wanted to meet her by the bike sheds but she was too afraid to go so she came striaght to her lesson instead."  
"Oh." James replied, and looked at the paramedic hugging Jess. She had been listening to their conversation. "It still doesn't mean it was him."  
"But there is a chance that it was." She replied, and looked towards Jess as she had finally calmed down a little bit.

"Will you let me take a look at you now Jess?" Dixie asked softly, but Jess looked at her with terrified eyes. "It will be better for you I promise."  
"Y..you do?" She stuttered, holding her chest as it really hurt when she breathed.  
"Yes." Dixie said. "The quicker we sort you out, the quicker you go home."  
"Okay." She said hesitantly.  
"Can you stand?" Dixie asked,taking both of Jess's hands.  
"I don't know." Jess said, seeing her vision blur as the pain in her chest increased.  
"Can you try for me?" Dixie asked, and Jess looked around her and nodded.

Dixie helped pull her to her feet but Jess groaned in pain and doubled over as the pain in her stomach and chest was too much. Miss Rowling ran over to help her, but the pain was too much for Jess. She cried out in pain as she leant forwards, and Jeff was ready with the trolley.  
"Try and take a couple of steps for me." Dixie said as she held her hands and Miss Rowling was close behind.

Jess lifted up one leg and put it forwards but pain shot through it. Her vision got darker and she got tired. She tried to take another step but it was too much, and she fell backwards. Miss Rowling caught her. Dixie took Jess's ankles and together they put her on the trolley and into the back of the ambulance.  
"Can I go with her?" Miss Rowling asked Dixie.  
"Sure you can Love." She said, smiling at her.  
"Im going with her James." She said to her husband.  
"I understand. I wish her all the best." James said and Miss Rowling smiled at him as they shut the ambulance.

Dixie checked Jess over in the ambulance while she had the chance and Miss Rowling looked on in shock. She looked so battered and bruised...  
"Will she be alright?" Miss Rowling asked, looking at Dixie with worried eyes.  
"I think she will be fine physically. But you saw how she was down there. It might take her a while to take it all in." Dixie explained.  
"Oh." She replied. "How could someone do that to a thirteen year old? Its sick."  
"I know." Dixie replied. "She will be in pain for a long while."  
"What injuries does she have?" Miss Rowling asked, looking at Jess's unconscious form.  
"From what I can see, a deep cut to the throat, a few broken ribs, bruising to the wrists and ankles, and bruising to the face. She could also have internal bleeding because she is quite bruised on her stomach, and also maybe a concussion." Dixie explained.  
"How could-" They were interrupted by a beeping noise.  
"Her oxygen stats are decreasing." Dixie said. "Step on it Jeffrey!"  
"Whats going on?" Miss Rowling asked, looking at Dixie.  
"I think that one of her broken ribs has punctured one of her lungs." Dixie said. "She will probably need a chest drain."  
"Oh right." Miss Rowling said, looking at Jess. Dixie was getting the oxygen ready and put the mask on to Jess's face to help with her laboured breathing.

"I heard you talking to your husband. You teach her?" Dixie asked, trying to keep her mind off of Jess.  
"Yeah." Jenny said. "She is such a nice girl to teach."  
"She is a lovely girl." Dixie said. "But I heard that you have a suspect."  
"I do." She replied. "But I can't be too sure."  
"The police will probably want to hear it." Dixie said, looking at her.  
"I know. And I will tell them everything." Jenny said.  
"What makes you think that that person was the one who did this?" Dixie asked.  
"He put his food down her shirt, kept calling her names, and sent her a message to meet him behind the bike sheds this morning."  
"What did he call her?"  
"Speccy." She replied. "Thats horrible."  
"She just got glasses, am I right?" Dixie asked. "I seem to remember her telling me."  
"Yeah she did." Jenny nodded, and she saw that they were at the ED.

Dixie was hoping that Nick and Zoe were't waiting for them inside the double doors waiting to treat. She didn't want them to get the shock of their life as Jess was wheeled in.

Inside the ED, Zoe was looking at the monitor for a patients records, when Nick walked next to her.  
"Hey." Nick said to her. "Been able to get hold of Jess yet?"  
"No." Zoe shook her head. "I've tried like ten times in the past hour and haven't heard a thing.  
"Oh." Nick said, beginning to worry but he told himself that she was a responsible girl and that she would be fine. He took hold of Zoe's chin and kissed her which he hoped would calm them down. He saw that she was still worried so he hugged her for a little while.

Dixie and Jeff wheeled Jess in with Miss Rowling behind them, and Sam ran to join them and take lead of this patient.  
"This is Jess Jordan..." She said.

Zoe and Nick pulled apart and looked at each other.  
"Did she just say who I thought she said?" Zoe asked Nick, tears sparkling in her eyes.  
"Im afraid so." Nick replied, and they both rushed over to her.


	6. Chapter 6

"This is Jess Jordan, severe bruising to chest, stomach, wrists and ankles, punctured lung, few possible broken ribs. Lost consciousness on scene. Laceration to the throat which is quite deep. Possible internal bleeding and possible victim of sexual assault." Dixie explained and Zoe looked extremely worried.

Looking at their daughter like that, they both didn't know what to do. Possible sexual assault? She was thirteen!

Zoe recognised a woman that came in with her, so she stopped her.  
"I recognise you." Zoe said, tears falling down her face.  
"Jenny Rowling. Im her english teacher." She explained, also crying a little bit. "I found her in the alley behind my house." Zoe hugged her, which Jenny hadn't expected. She hugged her back.  
"Thank god you found her!" Zoe cried. "Did you see who did it?"  
"No, i'm sorry. But I have my suspicions." She said.  
"Where do you live anyway?" Zoe asked, as Jenny handed her a tissue. "Thanks."  
"I live only a few minutes away from the school." She said.  
"Oh my god." Zoe cried. "She was walking home. She must have been there for hours."  
"I only heard her because I went to get my washing in." Jenny explained.  
"Was she distressed?" Zoe asked, shaking a little.  
"Quite a bit yes." Jenny said. "Wouldn't let anyone near her or touch her until the paramedic sorted her out. Dixie, was it?"  
"Yeah." Zoe nodded. "Wait, you said you have suspicions?"  
"I do." She said. "I feel it was this boy at school who is a few years older than her. She came to her lesson upset yesterday."  
"What happened?" She asked, wanting to know but also get to her daughter.  
"Her group of friends sat on his table and he wasn't impressed. He put his chips down her shirt." She stopped when Zoe gasped.  
"She told me she walked into someone and it was an accident." She said, tears still flowing freely down her face.  
"Then she said that last night she recieved a facebook message and it was him asking to meet her before school started but she didn't go."  
"Too right." Zoe said. "I wouldn't have gone."  
"Me either." Jenny said, shaking her head.

"Zo, she is waking up." Nick called to her and Zoe thanks Jenny and rushing into resus to find her daughter. She walked in to find her moving about on the bed but her eyes weren't open.  
"Jess? Jess!" Zoe took hold of her hand to try and bring her out of her unconscious state. "Jess!"

Her eyes snapped open and when she found out where she was, she screamed and jumped off the bed, ripping out the IV line that was only just put in. She cowered in the corner, not looking at anyone.  
"Jess?" Zoe said, crouching down near her. "Jess hunny we need to treat you." She saw the blood dripping down her arm as she hugged her knees in the corner of the room. "Jess look at me."

Jess didn't want to look at anybody, so she kept her head down while she cried silently to herself.  
"Jess." Her mother looked at her. "Jess please look at me. Its your mum." Jess still wouldn't look at her. "Please Jess. You need that chest looking at now or it will get more painful."

Nick wanted to walk over to her and just pick her up as he didn't want to see her deteriorate. He began to walk but Tess put her arm out to stop him.  
"Leave them to it. She's more likely to respond to her mother." Tess whispered, and Nick understood.

"Jess." Zoe said, taking a few steps towards her. "If you don't let us treat you, we are going to have to sedate you to do it."  
"No." Jess cried. "Don't make me watch it again. Please don't hurt me." She whispered the last sentence and it broke Zoe's heart.  
"I won't hurt you I promise." She said, feeling that was was making progress. "Please Jess." She said, feeling that time was ticking with every drop of blood that dripped on to the floor from her arm. She slowly went right up to Jess and crouched down next to her. She slowly put her arm around her daugher and she felt her tense up. But when Jess realised that it wasn't a threat, he broke down and cried her eyes out on her mothers shoulder.

Zoe was now crying harder than she was before, seeing how distressed Jess was. She was normally a confident young girl, but now she was seeing a completely different side to her. One she never ever wanted to see.  
"Please let us treat you." Zoe whispered into her ear. "You will feel a lot more comfortable if you do." After a few minutes pause,she got a reply.  
"...okay." She sniffed, and Zoe helped pull her to her feet. Jess screamed in pain as she did to and sunk to her knees again, and Nick rushed over to help her. She didn't like the feeling of someone elses hands on her body that wasn't her mother so she pushed them away instinctively. Tess pulled him away from her.  
"Give her some time." She said to Nick. "Let her realise we aren't here to hurt her."

Nick was feeling sad inside, knowing his daughter would push him away like that. It made him seem scary, seeing her react that way, but he knew it wasn't her, it was her mind. To make himself useful, he went to find the woman that came in with her, and tell her the news.

Sam was trying to put another IV in Jess's other arm, but she didn't want Sam to do it. She only wanted her mother as she felt that it was her she could trust. No one else.  
"Let me do it." Zoe whispered, and Sam let her. She wasn't supposed to treat someone she was relaed to but if they wanted it done, they would have to do it soon. She put the needle in Jess's arm recieving no reactions at all, and Zoe looked at her, seeing she was struggling to breath.

She grabbed the oxygen mask and put it over Jess's face. She noticed that she didn't struggle anymore, and Zoe's eyes filled with tears. It was as if she had stopped fighting, as if she gave up.  
"Sam can you put in a chest drain please?" Zoe said, eyes brimming with tears.  
"But she doesn't want me doing it." Sam said.  
"Look at her." Zoe said. Jess was silently crying with her eyes barely open. "I honestly don't think she cares at this point in time."  
"Okay." Sam said, and went to get the equipment.

She set it all up and Zoe took hold of Jess's hand. She held on tight, but Jess didn't even try to hold it back. Zoe was just holding a limp hand.  
"Okay Jess, deep breath for a sharp scratch okay?" Sam said, and didn't recieve any kind of answer. Sam went ahead with Zoe's nod anyway as it really needed doing.

Jess didn't flinch at the incision Sam made, but Zoe was watching her face. The tears increased but she showed no sign of being in pain. This continued for the whole procedure.  
"Jess baby." Zoe said, wiping the tears away from her daughters face. "Its alright. Its all done now." The tears slowed down then. "Look at me." Zoe said in a soft pleading tone.

Jess slowly opened her eyes to look at her mother but she shut them again, tears falling down the sides of her face.  
"Why don't you get some rest before they take you up for your xray?" Zoe asked, still holding on to Jess's still limp hand. Zoe didn't get an answer, so she put her hand down and left the room, and went to find Nick.

She found him sitting with Jenny in the relatives room.  
"Is she alright?" Jenny asked, standing up at Zoe's arrival.  
"For now." Zoe said, sitting down on the other side of the room. "She had her chest drain fitted." Nick saw how upset Zoe was and walked over and gave her a hug, where she began sobbing into his chest.  
"I had better go." Jenny said. "Can I visit her tomorrow?"  
"Oh." Nick said. "Sure. Thank you so much for bringing her here. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't have found her." Jenny smiled and then left the room. She didn't have anything to say.

"Nick." Zoe said, after Jenny left.  
"Yeah?" He said kneeling down infront of her. She could see that he was holding back tears. She wanted to tell him but she couldn't. She began to cry again, looked up at the ceiling hoping that they would stop flowing out of her eyes. "Hey hey." Nick said, putting his arms around her again.  
"Im sorry." She said, plucking the courage to talk to him. She didn't know how to start. "I, uh..." She began. "That was horrible."  
"What was?" Nick asked, tears filling in his eyes.  
"That. The whole thing. That shouldn't have happened to her." Zoes voice wobbled at the end. "It was like she just gave up. She wouldn't even grip my hand in there Nick. She wasn't even trying." She began to cry again.  
"Come here." He said, and hugged her. She cried into his blazer as he held her tight.

A few minutes later, Sam walked through the door.  
"Sorry." She said, as she saw them break the hug.  
"Its fine." Nick said, walking over as Zoe was still upset.  
"We are taking her up for an xray now." Sam said. "I thought i'd tell you."  
"Thank you." He said, and motioned for Zoe to follow him. She got up, and they all went down to see the x-ray and the results.


	7. Chapter 7

Nick and Zoe were waiting outside the x-ray for Jess to come out. It was now after ten so their shifts were finished. Zoe leaned against the wall, leaning her head back with her eyes closed. They stung as she had cried for a long time, and now she was trying her hardest to stop.

Nick still felt helpless. The only thing he could do was comfort Zoe as Jess wouldn't let anyone but her near her knowingly.  
"Zo, are you alright?" Nick asked her and she leaned her head of the wall, opened her eyes to look at him.  
"What do you think Nick?" She whispered, and he told himself off for asking a stupid question. He walked over to her and hugged her. She loved the feeling and it did help her to cheer up a little, but she couldn't fully rest knowing that their daughter was in such distress.

They were disturbed by the x-ray doors open and Jess was wheeled out.  
"She fell asleep halfway through." Sam said as she walked out with her. Zoe walked up to Jess, hoping she would look peaceful, but she looked far from it. The bruises were darker and there were tear stains down her cheeks.  
"Looks like she cried herself to sleep." Zoe muttered as matter of fact. Sam smiled gently to try and relax Zoe a little bit.  
"I will get the results to you as soon as I can." Sam said.  
"But didn't your shift finish the same time as ours?" Nick asked.  
"Yeah but I want to finish up here." She explained. "Tom is on night shift so he will look after her while i'm gone."  
"Thank you." Zoe said, as they wheeled Jess down to a spare room.

Zoe sat down next to Jess and took hold of her hand. Again Jess didn't try to grip it back but this time Zoe understood as she was sleeping. Nick still kept his distance. Zoe noticed that he didn't go close to her, so she ushered him over.  
"Nick come on." Zoe said, looking at him.  
"She doesn't want me there." Nick shook his head.  
"She does Nick. You are her father. She just needs to see she is safe, thats all." Zoe explained. Nick still didn't move.  
"Im going to go home and grab some stuff for the both of you." Nick said, leaving the room.  
"Nick wait." Zoe said, letting go of Jess and rushing out after him. "Nick stop."

He turned around and looked at Zoe. She looked almost broken. She looked as if she was on the edge of breaking point, and he knew that he couldn't do anything to make that worse. He walked towards her and she wrapped her arms around him really tight, and he did the same. He couldn't stop his eyes watering, as could she. They pulled away after a few minutes.  
"Im serious I do need to get you both some things." He said. "But I will come back later."  
"You promise?" Zoe said.  
"Yeah." He smiled at her, and kissed her before he turned away to leave.

Zoe walked back into Jess's room and as she did, Sam was in there.  
"Oh there you are." Sam said, as she put the x-rays up on the light board. "She has broken three ribs but they should heal on their own. She also has two broken fingers. I got those x-rayed after seeing them bruise a little. They were dislocated but they have now been put back into place." Sam said.  
"Thats all?"  
"Thats all." Sam repeated, and looked at Zoe. She could also see that Zoe was near braking point. "You know, i'm here if you need me, yeah?"  
"Thanks Sam." Zoe said, glad that she had such good friends. She hugged Sam and Sam hugged her back. Zoe never usually gave out hugs but when she did, she really needed them. Sam heard her sniff, so she guessed she was crying again. She began to rub her back to sooth her when she heard her sob.  
"Its alright Zoe." Sam said. She had never seen Zoe so upset before. Before long, Zoe began to shake with sobs and Sam was beginning to get emotional herself. She guided Zoe over to the chair next to Jess's bed and sat her down.

Zoe tried and tried to stop crying. She felt guilty for getting attention by the doctor as her daughter needed it more. She didn't realise she was shaking until Sam handed her a glass of water and she tried to hold it but the water was splashing over the floor. She felt a hand clasp hers and the glass pressed against her lips. She gulped down the water and the shaking began to subside.  
"Zoe?" Sam asked, looking at her with concern. "Zo?"  
"Hmm?" She replied, and looked at Sam. She could see she was worried. "Sorry."  
"Don't be. Its just the shock of whats happened." Sam said. "Areyou alright?"  
"Im fine, now." She gave Sam a weak smile.  
"Look, Tom is here now." Sam said, and Zoe looked over to the other side of the room. She didn't know how long he had been there for. "So I am going to leave you in his capable hands."  
"Thanks Sam." Zoe said, finishing the rest of the water. She left the room with a glance behind her to see Zoe begin talking to Tom.

"Im just going to monitor her over night." Tom said. "We will watch her chest and the drain."  
"Okay." Zoe said, not having the energy to reply properly. She leaned against Jess's bed as Tom checked her over.  
"Do you want anything?" Tom asked, but Zoe didn't register the question. She was very tired. "Zoe?"  
"Yeah?" She said, hearing her name.  
"Do you want anything? A drink? Food?" Tom asked, concerned with her lack of attention.  
"No." She replied.  
"Are you sure?" Tom asked again.  
"Im fine Tom." Zoe said, putting no effort into her reply. Tom shook his head, both in annoyance and in sympathy. He knew she should eat something at least but he knew she just wanted to be with her daughter. Everyone that saw what happened today was shaken by this event. He left the room to give Zoe some peace and quiet.

She was thinking about everything now, which made her head spin. The police would most likely want to speak to Jess about what happened, but that was going to be hard because she could barely talk to her own mother. Zoe would have to ask Miss Rowling to give the name of her suspicions and what she saw of what happened. Jess would have to tell the police, however much she didn't want to, but it might take a while for her to build up the courage to do so.

Before long, Zoe fell asleep leaning on Jess's bed as Tom came in to see how she was doing. He knew that she probably wasn't comfortable there but she needed the rest, so he grabbed a pillow from the other side of the room, and propped up her head gently. Once again he checked Jess's chest drain and then her temperature to find that she had a slight fever.

Nick walked in to find Zoe asleep and Tom looking at concern over Jess.  
"Is there anything wrong?" Nick asked him.  
"Her temperature is slightly elevated to I will have to keep an eye on that." Tom said. "Other than that she is fine."  
"Okay. Thanks." He said, seeing Zoe asleep.  
"I hope you don't mind..." He said. "I put a pillow their so she didn't wake up with an ache or something."  
"Of course I don't mind." Nick said. "Thank you."  
"Just doing my job." Tom said, and left the room to leave Nick with Zoe. Nick looked at both of them there, finally looking like they were getting some rest. Nick kissed Zoe on the forehead and then Jess, and he noticed how warm Jess felt compared to Zoe. She was warm and he looked closely. You could see the redness in her cheeks and the sweat on her forehead. He left the room and tried to find Tom.


	8. Chapter 8

Nick found Tom in cubicles looking after another patient.  
"Tom?" Nick said, putting his head into the cubicle. "Its Jess."  
"Excuse me." Tom said to his patient. "What's wrong?"  
"She's burning up." Nick said, and Tom rushed out of the cubicle.  
"Its probably from her concussion." Tom said as they walked in.

Jess was moving about on the bed but Zoe was still sleeping. The first thing Nick did was touch Jess's forehead to see how hot it was, and it was boiling. He noticed that even in sleep Jess flinched away from his cool hands.  
"Zoe?" Nick said, shaking her lightly. "Zo, hunny?"  
"Wha?" She said, waking up. She wiped her eyes. "What is it?"  
"You need to move." Nick said to her, trying to stop her from worrying.  
"Why? Whats going on?" She turned her head to look at Jess and saw how ghostly pale she was. For a second Zoe feared the worst and tears built in her eyes again. Nick thought of something quickly.  
"She has a fever caused by the concussion." Nick explained and Zoe sighed with relief. Nick looked confused.  
"I saw how pale she was and..." Zoe said, and began to sob again as Nick hugged her.  
"She will be fine Zoe." Nick comforted.  
"I know." Zoe nodded. "It just scared me, thats all."  
"Okay well she is fine." Nick said, rocking her slightly. "But are you alright?"  
"Im fine." She said.  
"Are you sure? You feel a bit warm to me too." Nick said, putting his hand to her forehead.  
"Im tired, and I have a headache from crying so much." Zoe said. "Nothing a little sleep can't fix."  
"Then go to the on call room." Nick said. "Im sure you can sleep there."  
"I will when I know her fever is gone." Zoe said, walking over to the bed. She saw Jess was uneasy in her sleep so she took hold of her hand. Zoe noticed it was very warm and clammy, so she went over to the sink and wet a cloth with cold water. Then she walked over to Jess and put it on her forehead, which calmed her down a lot. Jess stopped moving around, and Zoe was happy that such a simple thing could help.  
"Her fever is just over forty degrees..." Tom said and Zoe gasped.  
"Thats rather high." Nick replied.  
"Zoe, can you get some more wet cloths for me and put them on her ankles and wrists? That will help." Tom asked.  
"Sure." Zoe said. Her and Tom began to wet the cloths and then when they were done, they monitored her temperature.  
"Its going down slowly." Tom said, flipping over the cloths so the cold bit came into contact with with her skin. He did that with them all, and her temperature continued to fall.

Zoe felt extremely tired all of a sudden and sat down in the chair, holding her head up.  
"Zo?" Nick asked, kneeling down infront of her. "Zo?"  
"Im dizzy." She said, holding her head. She shut her eyes.  
"Lets get you to the on call room yeah?" Nick said, taking hold of her hand and helping her out of the chair. Zoe took a few steps but she stopped. "Zoe?" Nick said, concerned. He had a reason to be, as she began to fall towards him. He sighed after he caught her. She must have been exausted.  
"Woah woah." Tom said, rushing over.  
"She's fine." Nick said. "She's just had a long day."  
"From what I am aware of, the on call room is free." Tom said. "Take her up there."  
"I will." Nick said, picking her up bridal style and taking her down to the on call room.

Several people stopped him on the way there asking if she was okay, and he told them all that she was just very tired and needed to sleep. He arrived at the on call room five minutes later and layed her down gently on the bed before making her comfortable to go and look after Jess again.

"Nick." Tom said as he walked in.  
"Any change?" Nick asked.  
"Her temperature is still high but not as high as it was before." Tom said. "Why don't you rest aswell Nick? It doesn't look like she will be waking up any time soon. And if she does, I will come and get you first."  
"You will?" Nick said, feeling a bit tired now.  
"Yeah." Tom said. "Go and rest. You will need your energy for tomorrow."  
"You're right." Nick said, perfectly timing a yawn. "Look after her Tom."  
"What? Don't you trust me?" He said, doing a sarcastic gasp. "I will. Don't worry."  
"Thank you." Nick said, smiling, before going to the oncall room and cuddling up to Zoe before falling asleep.

Nick was the first to wake, and he looked at his watch.

9:02 am.

Already past nine? Tom said he would wake him if Jess woke! He sat up and walked to the door and flung it open. It bounced off the wall and it startled Zoe. She jumped awake, and Nick realised he had woken her up. He saw that he had scared her.  
"Sorry." He said, going over to her as she looked worried. When she realised there was no threat, her heart beat returned to normal and then she was fully awake. "Im just going to see how Jess is. You coming?"  
"Yeah." Zoe said, feeling refreshed. "But I need coffee."  
"Lets get you one, and then we can go and see her." Nick said.

They walked out of the on call room and walked towards the cafe, but on their way there, they met Sam.  
"Sam?" Nick said, as he knew Sam was working on Jess. "Is Jess awake?"  
"Not yet." She replied. "She had a rough night with the fever and all, but she should wake soon."  
"Okay, thank you." He said.  
"How are you both? I heard about last night." She looked at Zoe.  
"What happened last night?" Zoe asked, as she couldn't remember going to the on call room willingly.  
"You were tired, and I was walking you to the on call room, but we hadn't left the room before you fell on me. I carried you there." Nick explained.  
"Oh." Zoe said, scratching her head. She couldn't remember.  
"We'd better get you that coffee, hadn't we?" Nick said to Zoe who smiled at him.  
"I'll see you in a little while." Sam said, before walking in the opposite direction.

They got to the cafe and Nick ordered a take out coffee for them both, before walking towards Jess's room.  
"How is she?" Zoe asked, feeling a lot better after having her coffee.  
"Better than she was last night. Her temperature is almost back to normal." Sam explained, and Zoe felt full of relief. "I think that today she won't be so distressed now that she has had some time to rest."  
"Thats good." Nick said. Maybe now she wouldn't be scared of her own father. He would be able to hug her and feel happy, and without her being fearful.  
"I don't think you will get a full story for a while." Zoe said. "She could barely speak yesterday. The police will have to wait."  
"Isn't her teacher coming today?" Nick asked Zoe.  
"Yeah but i'm guessing that it will be later." Zoe said. "She is a teacher."  
"Yeah." Nick said. "Im so thankful that she found her."  
"Me too." Zoe said. "Shall we get her something?"  
"To say thanks? Sure. But what?"  
"Bottle of wine?" Zoe suggested. She always liked getting a bottle of wine as a present.  
"Sure. I will go and get one later." Nick said, and Zoe hugged him.

They heard a cough from the direction of Jess's bed, and Zoe rushed over. Nick stayed put.  
"Nick come on." Zoe said.  
"She won't want me there." Nick said.  
"Nick get over here." She said putting her foot down. "She needs to see you. You are her father!"  
"If I scare her, I blame you." He said, and walked up next to the bed. Zoe grabbed hold of her hand.

Jess opened her eyes and was glad that she wasn't dreaming anymore. What happened the other night haunted her in her nightmares. She was awake enough to feel the cloths on her hands and feet in the middle of the night that it reminded her of what caused the bruises.

She looked to the side and saw her mother and her father. She looked at them both and began to cry again.  
"Jess don't cry." Zoe said, knowing it would set her off again. She put her arms around her daughter, before letting go as the sobbing subsided.  
"Jess?" Nick said, and she turned to look at him.  
"Yeah?" She whispered.  
"We were so worried." Nick said, and Jess saw that he was upset. She lifted her arm to him, the arm which had the pulse monitor and the IV in. He took hold of her hand and then leaned in to hug her. She flinched and Nick drew away.  
"Sorry." Jess said. "I couldn't help it."  
"Its fine." Nick said. He was a lot happier now that she knew he was there for her. He leaned in again and then they hugged, which made Nick feel more complete. He had part of his daughter back.


	9. Chapter 9

Nick pulled out of the hug to see Jess still crying. Zoe reached up to her face to wipe the tears away but Zoe noticed that every time her skin came into contact with Jess's, Jess did move away slightly. Zoe knew that it would take a while to stop that. Sam left to give them some privacy.  
"Why does it hurt to breath?" Jess croaked, looking at her parents. She winced and put her hand on her forehead.  
"You have a few broken ribs sweetheart." Zoe said. "One of the punctured your lung."  
"So that is what the tube is for." Jess said, sighing.

She moved her feet slightly but she didn't know that those wet cloths were their. It felt like someone held her feet down. She reacted, bringing her feet towards her chest, and more tears fell down her face.  
"Jess what is it?" Zoe asked, looking at her feet which had supports on.  
"There was something on my feet." She cried. "It reminded me of..." She couldn't finish her sentence.  
"There is nothing there that will hurt you Jess." Zoe said, picking up the cloths. She threw them into the sink.  
"What were those for?" Jess asked, still holding her knees to her chest.  
"You had a bad fever last night. They helped to cool you down." Nick explained.  
"How high." She sighed.  
"What?" Zoe asked, not catching what she said.  
"How high was my fever?" She asked in a whisper.  
"Just over forty degrees." Zoe replied, and she saw Jess reach up and rub her head. "Headache?"  
"No. It just kinda stings." She whispered. "Why does it sting?"  
"You have a lot of bruising." Nick explained.  
"What about my neck? Why is there a plaster there?"  
"You had about seventeen stitches in it." Nick said.  
"Seventeen stitches." Jess nodded, and winced as the stitches pulled. "Right."  
"You got off better than we thought you would." Zoe said. "You could have had internal bleeding." Jess took this the wrong way.

"I got off better?" She asked, getting angry. "How on earth did I get off better?"  
"You had less injuries than we thought you had." Nick said, wondering why Jess was getting angry.  
"But I got better off?" She cried angrily. "No way did I get better off. I did nothing wrong and I get attacked!"  
"Jess we didn't mean it like-" Zoe began.  
"So its better off that I got hurt in the first place?"  
"No Jess we didn't-"  
"I did not get better off!" She cried. "I got raped!" She shouted, and Zoe began to cry.

The memories came flooding back to Jess and she shut her eyes to try and stop it.  
"Jess we know you are upset but-"  
"Of course i'm upset!" She screamed at her father. "Look at me! Look at what he did to me!"  
"Jess please just listen."  
"What for." She cried, facing the other way.  
"We didn't mean it like that." Nick said. "We meant that you got lucky with your injuries. They could have been a lot worse." Jess was about to speak but Nick interrupted her. "Obviously it would have been a lot better that this didn't ever happen in the first place, but it did Jess. We can't go back."

Jess began to sob, and Zoe walked around to the other side of the bed to talk to her.  
"We know this is hard baby but you need to trust us, okay?" She said softly, getting the hair out of her daughers eyes. Jess winced as she did and pushed Zoe's hands away.  
"Please stop it." Jess said.  
"Sorry." Zoe replied.  
"And how would you know how hard it is?" Jess whispered. "I feel... dirty!"

That one word at the end made Zoe feel horrible. She was only thirteen and she had to go through that.  
"I know that you aren't going to like this," Zoe began as Nick watched on. "but you are going to need to talk to the police about this."  
"No." Jess said. "No."  
"Why not?" Zoe said softly to try and coax the answer out of her. "Jess." Jess wouldn't reply. She just sat their with her eyes closed as she bit her bottom lip.

Sam walked in and Jess sighed with relief. She wouldn't have to tell anyone just yet.  
"Everything alright?" Sam asked.  
"Yeah." Nick replied as Zoe stood up wiping her eyes.  
"Are you alright Jess?" Sam asked, trying to make conversation.  
"What do you think?" Jess replied in a whisper, wiping her eyes. Sam ignored it.  
"Im going to have to get someone to examine you fully." Sam told Jess.  
"Why?!" Jess said, beginning to panic.  
"Its what we have to do." Sam said. "We have to see if there is something we are missing."  
"But what if I don't want you to." Jess said, looking extremely worried.  
"I know its not ideal for you but we need to check." Sam said. "It will prevent further problems." Jess's eyes were filling with tears again. "It will be quick. Ten minutes at most."

It took a while for Jess to reply as she thought about it.  
"Fine." She replied.  
"Good girl." Zoe said, going to wipe the hair from Jess's forehead again but Jess pushed her away.  
"Sorry, just please don't do that!" Jess said, nearly letting a tear spill over. "It scares the hell out of me."  
"Im sorry." Zoe said, knowing how bad Jess must be feeling. "Habit."  
"Just please don't do it again." Jess said, wiping her eyes before the tears would flow again.  
"I will come and get you in about thirty minutes." Sam smiled to give some encouragment to Jess. Jess felt a flood of warmth wash through her, but it didn't last long. It was soon replaced by the cold.

When Sam left the room, Zoe knelt down infront of Jess.  
"Jess, if you tell me who did this, I will tell the police what you told me. Maybe they will leave you alone."  
"I can't." she whispered. She didn't want all these questions.  
"Why not?" Zoe asked, giving her a look full of sympathy.  
"I just can't!" Jess snapped, and Zoe looked into her eyes.  
"I know you don't want to tell us, but you can give him what he deserves if you do."  
"I can't tell you!" Jess shouted. Zoe looking right into her eyes didn't help. Her voice changed to a whisper. "I just can't."  
"Why not?"  
"He said I was going to pay."


	10. Chapter 10

"Jess, you can make him pay if you tell us who it is." Zoe said.  
"No. I can't tell you!" Jess raised her voice.  
"Why not?" Zoe said, also raising her voice aswell.  
"Zo..." Nick said. He knew that shouting at Jess wasn't the answer.  
"I can't! Please. I just can't." Jess sobbed and Zoe felt guilty for not listening to Nicks warning.  
"Im sorry. Its just that man is still out there Jess. Without you telling us who it is then we can't stop him." Zoe said, reaching up to hug her.  
"Please just leave me alone for a bit." Jess said, frustrated. She just wanted time to herself without being asked questions.  
"If thats what you want." Zoe said, standing up and walking out of the room. It was now only Nick and Jess.

"You know she only wants to help you, right?" Nick said softly to Jess.  
"I know." She replied in a whispered. "Its just really getting on my nerves. All those questions."  
"I know it is." Nick said. "But what she said was right."  
"Yes but I can't tell you." Jess said, getting slightly annoyed with him too.  
"I know you can't." Nick said. "But just think about it, alright? I will go and talk to her and maybe she will stop pressuring you."  
"Thank you." Jess whispered. She really loved her dad sometimes. He always helped her, whatever it was about.

She waited until she heard the doors swing shut before letting the tears fall again. She knew that Sam would be back soon to take her down to be examined. As she thought about it, the tears fell thick and fast as she wondered what would happen next.

She whipped her hand to her forehead as the bruising stung, which reminded her about what had happened to her. She winced as she recalled when Ryan punched her multiple times, but was glad when she saw him hit her the last time before she couldn't remember anymore.

She lifted up her arm that was free of any equipment, and looked at the bruises. She could see where each of his fingers were when he grabbed her. She moved her hand around and she didn't realise how much it hurt. She threw her wrist down onto the bed, as she couldn't bare to look at it any longer.

She wiped her face quickly as she heard the doors swing open. She was still facing the wrong way so she couldn't see the door, so she twisted around, wincing in the process. She smiled when she saw it was Sam.  
"Are you ready for your examination?" Sam asked her.  
"Not really." Jess replied.  
"It will be over soon and then you don't have to worry about it." Sam said, as she began to wheel Jess out. "How are you feeling now, anyway?"  
"Better." Jess said. "But still not happy."  
"Thats understandable." Sam replied. "Where are your parents?"  
"I don't know." Jess said. "I had an arguement with mum and dad went to talk to her."  
"Oh what was the arguement about?" Sam asked, trying to keep her mind off the examination.  
"She just kept asking me to tell her who did this to me." Jess said. "But I can't. Im not... ready yet."  
"Oh." Sam said. "She only wants to helpyou though. Don't blame her."  
"Im not. I just wanted some time to myself without being asked the same question and always giving the same answer."  
"Alright." Sam said.  
"Its easy talking to you." Jess said. "You don't pressure me into answering anything."  
"I don't, because I don't think it helps." Sam said to her. "But you understand what she is saying. You can get that bastard into a lot of trouble." Jess sniggered at her use of words. That was the first time she had laughed since last night.  
"I guess so." Jess said. "But when I think about it, I just can't speak about it."  
"I understand. It will take time to get the courage, and when you do, you will feel a lot better." Sam told her as they went into the examination.

"Zoe?" Nick said, finding her in the staff room.  
"Yeah?" She replied. Nick could see she had been crying.  
"Whats the matter." He said, sitting next to her.  
"I feel bad." She replied.  
"What about?" Nick asked.  
"Asking her to tell me when I knew she wouldn't." She replied, leaning back against the sofa.  
"She spoke to me about that after you left."  
"She did?" Zoe asked.  
"Yeah." Nick said. "It just kind of gets on her nerves when she doesn't want to answer yet."  
"I feel so bad." Zoe said, looking at her watch. "And we have missed her go for the examination."  
"Oh." Nick said, remembering it. "But when you see her, can you try not to ask her to do it again? She will tell us in her own time." He put his arm around Zoe to comfort her.  
"Yeah." Zoe said. "I gotta tell her im sorry."  
"You have to wait a little while for when she comes back." Nick said, and Zoe sighed. He pulled her onto his lap and hugged her. She kissed him.  
"I don't know what I do without you Mr Jordan." She said, and kissed him again.  
"And I don't know what I would do without you, Mrs Jordan." Nick replied, and they embraced for several minutes before going to check and see how Jess was doing.

Nick let Zoe go in on her own, as he knew they would have to talk things out.  
"Mum?" Jess asked as Zoe walked in to view.  
"Yeah." Zoe said, walking up, heels clicking on the floor.  
"Im sorry. I shouldn't have snapped like that." Jess said, voice thick after crying.  
"No, I should be the one apologising. I tried to pressure you into telling me, when I should have let you come to us in your own time." Zoe said, hugging Jess.  
"I do want to tell you, I do." Jess said into her ear. "But I think of his name and all I see is what he did to me."  
"So you know who it was." Zoe said into her ear.  
"Yeah." Jess replied.  
"I know I have said this once, and i'm not going to make you say it." Zoe began. "But telling someone will help you a lot."  
"I know. Sam said the same thing." Jess said. "I'm just not ready yet though."  
"Okay." Zoe said, pulling out of the hug. "Take your time." Jess smiled at her mother and then they both began to cry. They hugged again while they laughed and cried at the same time. Nick watched them and couldn't help but smile, so he walked in.

"How did the examination go?" Nick asked Jess.  
"It wasn't too bad." Jess said. "Wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Zoe handed her a tissue after getting one for herself.  
"Thats good." Nick said. "By the way, one of your teachers is coming in to see you. I can't remember her name."  
"Miss Rowling." Jess said. She remembered her clearly after last night. After all, she had found her.  
"Yeah thats it." Nick said. "She wanted to see how you weredoing after she came with you in the ambulance last night.  
"She came with me?" Jess asked.  
"Yeah. She was very worried. Was nearly crying bless her." Zoe replied.  
"Oh thats embarrassing..." Jess said, burying her head in her hands.  
"No Jess she cares about you, thats all." Zoe laughed.  
"I know but she is a teacher..." Jess cringed, and smiled.  
"Oh well. It will give you someone to talk to later." Zoe smiled at her.  
"I guess so." Jess said. Zoe couldn't help but notice she looked a bit happier now.  
"Come here. I need another hug." Zoe said, and was surprised when Jess pretty much launched into her arms.  
"What about me?" Nick said, and Zoe opened one of her arms.  
"Come here, you big softy." Zoe said, and Nick joined them in a group hug. Things were finally getting better.


	11. Chapter 11

It was around two in the afternoon, and Jess had fallen asleep while Nick and Zoe got to work. Jess was dreaming about what happened last night which made her sleep talk.

Sam was just going into the room to check on her when she saw Jess was distressed.  
"Jess, wake up." Sam said, walking over and seeing the beads of sweaton her forehead. "Jess."  
"Don't touch me! Don't touch me." Jess said in her sleep as Sam took hold of her hand trying to wake her up.  
"Jess. You are safe. Wake up." Sam said and shook her hand slightly, and Jess's eyes snapped open.  
"Oh my god." She said and began sobbing.  
"Hey shhh." Sam said. "You're alright."  
"It was so real." She cried, putting her hands to her eyes to wipe the tears. She saw everything again. Her mind even made up the parts for when she was unconscious. Now everything was even more vivid to her.  
"It was only a dream." Sam sat on the edge of Jess's bed and handed her a tissue. Jess took it and wiped her eyes but continued to cry.  
"I don't care if it was a dream. It was so real to me." Jess said, closing her eyes trying to block the images.  
"It will stop soon." Sam said.  
"Well I want it to stop now!" Jess said, still sobbing. "Anyway, why me? What did I ever do to him."  
"You didn't do anything Jess." Sam told her. "You didn't."  
"I sat at his table."  
"That shouldn't have resulted in this." Sam said. "I know you have heard this many times, but I think it would really help you if you told someone."  
"I can't!" Jess said.  
"Okay." Sam said. "But the images won't go away unless you don't try to get rid of them."  
"I know, but I just can't yet." Jess said, wiping her eyes. "I will when I actually can, but right now, I can't."  
"Alright." Sam said, seeing Zoe near the door. "I think your mums coming in."  
"Okay." Jess said, shutting her eyes for a few seconds.

"She still asleep?" Jess heard Zoe asked.  
"No." Sam said, turning to look at her and Jess slowly opened her eyes.  
"When did she wake up?" Zoe asked Sam.  
"Like ten minutes ago." Jess said. "I can talk you know."  
"Sorry." Zoe smiled at her and sat in the chair next to her. "How are you feeling?"  
"Same as I was earlier. Just less tired." Jess said with a straight face.  
"Do you want anything?" Zoe asked. "Tea? I know you like your tea."  
"Yeah please." Jess replied.  
"Okay." Zoe said. "Ill be back in a few minutes."  
"Kay." Jess said, and smiled. Zoe was so happy to get a smile out of her daughter.

Zoe was walking to the cafe and Nick saw her.  
"Not getting anothe coffee are you? You will look like coffee soon." Nick played.  
"No i'm not." Zoe laughed as Nick pretented to gasp. "Im getting a cup of tea for Jess."  
"Oh okay." Nick replied. "I went to the shop around the corner and got Jenny a bottle of wine in my lunch break."  
"Oh great." Zoe said. "I had forgotten about that."  
"Well its a good job I remembered then." Nick winked. His pager began to beep, and he looked at it. "Incoming RTC. Im probably going to need you with me."  
"How long?"  
"Six minutes." Nick told her.  
"Okay, let me get her tea and I will be right there." Zoe said, rushing off to buy it.

She dropped the tea off in to Jess and then rushed to resus where the RTC had just arrived.  
"What have we got?" She asked.  
"Seventeen year old Ryan Harding, hit by a car after running over the road. The car swerved, hitting another car in the process." Nick replied.  
"Okay, Nick, Linda, Lenny, you okay with this one?" She pointed to the woman who was driving one of the cars. She recieved multiple nods before going over to Ryans side.  
"Okay Ryan, where does it hurt?"  
"My back!" He said. "I can't feel my legs!" He was panicking.  
"Okay, we need an MRI now." Zoe said, and Dylan phoned for one. A spot was availablye right there and then, so he went up with no other injuries but bruising. It didn't look good for him, as he couldn't feel his legs and he had back pain. So a broken back did lead to paralysis in severe cases.

Zoe pulled off her gloves as her job was done for now, so she returned to Jess's room. Jess was just laying there, not doing anything.  
"Hey." Zoe said. "Bored?"  
"Yeah." Jess said.  
"Where is your phone? I thought you would be using that."  
"I dropped it when..." She took a deep breath. "You know when."  
"Oh."  
"And one of them stood on it. I think. I heard the glass break." Jess sniffed.  
"We will get you another one." Zoe said. "Don't worry. I know how much you use it and won't let you go without."  
"Thanks." Jess said.  
"Wait wait wait." Zoe said, processing what Jess said last. "One of them?"  
"Yeah?" Jess said, confused.  
"One of them? There was more than one?"  
"They were in a group." Jess whispered. "I thought you knew."  
"No. I thought it was the one." Zoe said, exhaling and running her hand through her hair.  
"But it was only the one that did anything. The others stood and watched and trashed my school bag and phone." Jess said.  
"Oh." Zoe said, taking a shakey breath, trying to stop herself from telling Jess to tell someone.

They talked for another hour or two, but were interrupted by someone at the door. Zoe looked and saw it was Miss Rowling.  
"Ill be back in a minute." Zoe said, walking out to talk to her. "Jenny. Hi."  
"Hi Mrs Jordan."  
"Please, call me Zoe." Zoe said.  
"Is she ready for visiters?" She asked, weary because of what she saw last night.  
"Yes. She has been fine now that she has rested." Zoe said. "I hope you don't mind me asking you, but you said you thought you knew who did this to her."  
"Yeah, but I can't be sure." She shook her head. "I told you about the other day with the chips at lunch and the facebook message, didn't I?"  
"Yeah." Zoe said, wondering why Jess didn't go to them first. "Would you mind asking her if it was the person you suspect? She won't tell us, and if you mention them and she reacts, then we will know."  
"Yeah I can." Jenny said. "But is she ready to talk about it?"  
"Not really. But she needs to." Zoe said. "Please?"  
"Sure. If its better for her." Jenny said, and they walked in to see Jess. Zoe stood out of the way while Jenny walked over to talking to Jess.

"Hey Jess." Miss Rowling said.  
"Hi." Jess said quietly.  
"How are you?"  
"Im alright." She said.  
"Did your art teacher like your drawing?" Jenny asked.  
"Yeah, after your lesson." Jess said. "She liked it. Alot."  
"Thats great. It was very good." Jenny said, and Zoe smiled that Jess had shown her too.  
"Thanks." Jess said, and saw Miss Rowling take a deep breath.  
"Can I asked you a question, about last night?"  
"Depends what it is." Jess said, not liking where this was going. She looked at Miss Rowling and she looked at her mother.  
"Was it..." She began. "Ryan Harding?"

Jess went tense at the name and began to look at Zoe and Miss Rowling before tears fell down her face. Miss Rowling took it as a yes, and hugged Jess.  
"Im sorry for bringing it up. But I had to know." She said, and Jess flinched so she let go.

Zoe on the other hand was fuming. She had treated him not long ago. She threw her cup on the floor and made Jess and Miss Rowling jump. Miss Rowling stood up to walk over to her.  
"Im going to kill him." Zoe said, and began storming out of resus. Miss Rowling stopped her.  
"Thats not going to stop anything is it?" She said calmly and Zoe stopped trying to leave, but she was still incredibly angry.  
"No. Maybe its better this way."  
"Excuse me?" Jenny asked, confused.  
"He's here. In the hospital. He got hit by a car and probably has a broken neck." Zoe said, and Miss Rowling gasped while Jess continued to cry. "I even treated him!"


	12. Chapter 12

"What happened to him?" Jenny asked.  
"Ran out infront of the road and got hit." Zoe said. "Good job too." She was still angry.  
"Look, the police are outside." Jenny said, wanting to get away from there for a bit. "Do you want me to talk to them?"  
"Yes please." Zoe said with angry tears falling down her face. She put her emotions behind her and went to go and comfort Jess who was nearly screaming with her sobs. "Jess shh come here."  
"He's here." Jess sobbed. "He will come after me!"  
"No he won't. However much he wants to. He can't feel his legs." Zoe said as she pulled Jess into a much needed hug. Jess felt relief was through her, knowing that Ryan couldn't get to her.  
"He can't hurt me again." Jess sobbed, and these words made Zoe cry again.  
"No he can't." Zoe replied, but she still felt angry. She had treated him without knowing it was him that hurt their daughter. She pulled out the hug. "I will be back in a minute." Zoe said, and left the room without waiting for a reply.

"So, Miss Rowling, you say you found the rape victim in the alley's behind your house?"  
"Yes." She replied.  
"How did you find her?" The policeman asked.  
"I was getting the washing in and I heard cries from down the garden." She explained. "She wasn't in the garden so I went round into the alley and I found her there."  
"Did you see anyone else there, that could have possible done this?"  
"No, but I know who did. I teach the girl, and two days before, she came to my lesson in tears because one boy had been bullying her. The next day, she told me about a facebook message she recieved where he asked to meet her, but she didn't go."  
"So you teach the victim?" The police asked.  
"Yes."  
"So, who is this suspect of yours?"  
"I wasn't sure earlier, but I mentioned the name to the victim just a few minutes ago and she burst into tears. So i'm pretty sure now." Miss Rowling said. "Ryan Harding. 17 years old."  
"He was admitted here earlier." The policeman said. "Car crash."  
"I know." Miss Rowling said. "I spoke to one of the doctors."  
"What did you think when you found the victim?" The police asked.  
"Well first I thought who could have done that to a thirteen year old girl?" Miss Rowling said. "But then I put that aside. She needed to go to the hospital so I got my husband to call an ambulance."  
"Okay. Is there any other pieces of information you could give me?" The police said.  
"Thats all I know, i'm sorry." Miss Rowling said.  
"You've really helped in this investigation. Thank you." He replied.  
"Its fine." She said, and walked out of the room.

Zoe walked into Ryans room calmly where he was waiting for his results.  
"Well, am I paralysed?" He asked Zoe.  
"I don't know yet." She said. "But can I ask you a quick question?"  
"Yeah I guess." He said, looking at her. She looked angry..  
"Why." She said.  
"Why what?"  
"Oh you know what." She said.  
"What?" He asked.  
"Why did you rape my daughter?" She asked in a sickly sweet voice. She saw him look slightly scared. "I asked you a question!"  
"So you're speccy's mother?" He asked, and Zoe lost control of her emotions.  
"What sick bastard does that to a thirteen year old!?" She screamed at him and began to slap him, catching the attention of Nick outside. He rushed in. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT TO HER!?"  
"Zoe, Zoe stop it!" Nick began to shout and pull her out of the room. She was really struggling to get back inside.  
"Nick! NICK!" She screamed. "LET ME BACK IN THERE! IM GOING TO KILL HIM!"  
"Zoe, stop." Nick said, pulling her into the staff room. "Why?"  
"Its was him." She spat in a whisper. "It. was. him."  
"What was him?" He asked, rubbing her knee to try and sooth her.  
"He was the attacker." She began to sob and Nick understood why she was so angry.  
"Hitting him won't help." Nick said, hugging her.  
"He is a sick human being." Zoe said. "She did nothing to him!"  
"I know." Nick said. "But Miss Rowling went to the police and told them, didn't she."  
"Yeah." Zoe sniffed.  
"Well, lets go and give her the wine." Nick said, and they left the room after Nick go the wine out of his locker.

Police were standing in the reception and Zoe took the chance to talk to them.  
"The man that raped my daughter is in there." Zoe said to them, trying to keep calm.  
"Zoe, come on." Nick said, mouthing the word 'Sorry' to the police officers. The police went towards Ryans room nonetheless.

They went into Jess's room as they guessed that was where Miss Rowling would be now as the police weren't talking to anyone.  
"Jenny." Zoe said, walking in. She wasn't in there, but she came across something she didn't want to see. Jess had ripped out the IV line again, and blood was dripping down onto the floor. Jess was pale and sweating.  
"Jess?" Nick said, rushing over. The first thing he did was put down the wine and he grabbed some tissues. He pressed it on Jess's arm and looked at the blood on the floor. She did this a little while ago. "Zoe, talk to her."  
"Jess?" Zoe said.  
"Hmm?" She said tiredly.  
"Why did you do this?" Zoe asked.  
"I couldn't help it. I needed something to take my mind off of him." She slurred. She was very tired.  
"Jess look at me." She opened her eyes unwillingly. Jess was slightly annoyed that her parents had found her half asleep. "You will probably be happy to know that I went to see Ryan and I slapped him multiple times."  
"You did?" She slurred.  
"Yes." Zoe said, looking at Jess and seeing that she wasn't going to be awake for much longer. Nick watched on as he put pressure on Jess's arm to stop the bleeding.  
"Hehe, you're all blurry." She smiled, looking at her mother. Zoe looked at Nick. She looked back and her eyes began to roll.  
"Jess, look at me!" Zoe said, and Jess looked at her. "Jess?" This time Jess's eyes did roll back, and there was nothing Nick and Zoe could do to stop it.  
"We need to get her back on saline." Nick said. "She needs fluids."  
"Let me go and get Sam." Zoe said, and left the bedside to go and find her.

Just after she left, Miss Rowling walked in and gasped at the sight. Jess was pale, there was a small puddle of blood on the floor and she felt sick just looking at it.  
"What happened?" She asked, looking at Jess.  
"She tore out her IV line." Nick explained, taking off the tissue to see if it had stopped bleeding. It hadn't, and more blood trickled down her arm. Miss Rowling almost gagged. Nick didn't miss it.  
"You alright?" He asked, seeing her face lose colour.  
"Yeah i'm fine." She said, in a whisper. She made her voice louder. "I'm good."  
"Are you sure?" He asked, seeing her begin to shake.  
"No." She said, and she passed out.  
"Jenny?" Nick said out loud. "Jenny?" He got no reply but he couldn't go round and help otherwise Jess would lose more blood. "Zoe? Sam?" He shouted, and the both came in.


	13. Chapter 13

"I haven't managed to stop the bleeding yet. Could you sort her out?" Nick pointed over the bed as Zoe rushed over. Jenny was just getting up off the floor.  
"Woah sit down for a little bit." Zoe said, crouching down net to her. "What happened?"  
"Its nothing. Its just the blood that does it." Jenny said. "Honest."  
"Okay." Zoe said, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "Just sit there for a minute. I'll get you some tea."  
"Im fine, really." Jenny said.  
"I still think you should drink something, or even eat something." Zoe said.  
"I have sweets in my bag." Jenny replied and began going through it. She pulled out fruit pastilles and popped one in her mouth.  
"Good." Zoe said, helping her up off the floor. While Nick was still putting pressure on Jess's arm, Sam was cleaning up the blood on the floor.

Nick took another peek at Jess's arm, and the bleeding had pretty much stopped. He put a bandage over it, and began to put another IV drip into her other arm. He stood in the way of Jess and Miss Rowling so she wouldn't have to see it.  
"Anyway did you see what happened? I thought you were with her." Zoe asked Jenny.  
"I went to the loo." Miss Rowling said. "Then I came back and this happened."  
"Oh." Zoe said, walking over to Jess. "You put her back on the saline?"  
"Yeah." Nick said.  
"All clean." Sam said, jumping up off the floor. She put the tissues in the bin and washed her hands.

The saline got to work and Jess began to wake again. This time as she opened her eyes, she saw a very worried, pale teacher looking back at her along with her parents and Sam.  
"Jess?" Zoe said, looking at her.  
"What?" She replied.  
"Why did you do that?" Zoe asked.  
"Do what?" Jess asked, looking down.  
"Pull out the IV line." Zoe looked on in sympathy.  
"Don't look at me like this." Jess said, turning away from Zoe. "It took my mind off what happened, alright?"  
"Jess..."  
"It helped, okay!?" Jess said, trying not to cry.  
"Okay okay fine." Zoe said. "Can I just say, that I did actually slap Ryan so you should be grateful." She pointed a finger and she giggled a little. "Just please don't try and do anything like this again. There are better ways."  
"Well that was the only option open to me, alright?" Jess sighed. "Now whats going to happen now that you know who did this?" She moved her wrists about to sooths the sting from the bruises.  
"Well, the police will obviously be notified." Nick said, and saw Jess looked worried. "You can still remain anonymous, don't worry."  
"I don't want to remain anonymous." Jess said, and Nick gave Jess the same look that Zoe did.  
"What?" Nick asked, extremely confused.  
"I said, I don't want to remain anonymous." Jess said. "Raise awareness and all that."  
"Well, thats very brave." Nick said. "But I suggest you remain anonymous until you feel ready to tell the whole story."  
"I guess." Jess said.  
"We have proof too." Sam said. "We have the clothes you wore that night. What was left of them were cut away, but we still kept the shreds."  
"Wait. Why is 'he' here?" She added fingers around his name. "I heard you say butit was a bit..." She said.  
"He got hit by a car while running over the road. Stupid boy." Zoe said, still full of anger towards him. Jess smiled inside. Jenny decided to go back to the main subject.

"Do you really want to put your name out there so fast?" She said. "Everyone at school will find out."  
"I honestly couldn't care less." Jess said. "No one was as bad as he was."  
"If you are sure." She replied. "I had better get going."  
"Oh, Jenny wait." Nick said, and she spun around. Nick brought the bag over to her. "Here."  
"Whats this for?" She asked, looking into the bag.  
"Its just a little something from us to say thank you." Zoe said. "We are so grateful that you were there."  
"It was fine." She smiled. "Thank you."  
"No problem. We should be the ones thanking you." Nick said.  
"I'll see you at school sometime, okay Jess?" She said, and Jess smiled and nodded.  
"Bye." Jess said, as she waved and left.

"So Jess." Sam said. "Without anymore blips like today, it looks like we can let you go in a few days."  
"Cool." She said.  
"But you have to be careful with those wrists and ankles." Sam said. "We will give you more supports for your ankles and will give you some for your wrists once the drip comes out."  
"Okay." She said. "Thanks."  
"Its fine." Sam said. "We can probably take the drip out tomorrow."  
"Yay." Jess said. "Hooray. It feels horrible when it pulls."  
"I know." Sam said.  
"Dad?" Jess said.  
"Yeah?"  
"When you went home, did you get my sketch book?" She asked, as she wanted to draw.  
"Yeah, I thought you'd want it." Nick said. "I will go and get it out of my locker."  
"Thanks dad." She said, smiling.

Zoe sat with Jess while she waited for Nick, and he came in soon after holding Jess's much loved sketch book.  
"Thanks." She grinned as Nick handed it to her. Sam looked over at one of the drawings she could see.  
"Can I look at these?" She asked, curious. The drawing she saw was good.  
"Sure." Jess said, shutting it and giving it to her. Sam gasped as she looked at them.  
"There is your mother, your father, ha even Lenny." Sam said. "Woah, okay I like this one."  
"Which one?"  
"Me!" She said, turning the page around. "Look!" She showed Nick and Zoe.  
"Wow its good!" Zoe said, and Nick agreed. "When did you do that?"  
"One of the days i've been here after school. I have to do something for an hour or two." Jess explained.  
"Well I like it." Sam said.  
"Can I see the one of me?" Zoe asked, and Sam flicked the page over so she could see it.  
"Its not the best as I did that one a while ago." Jess said. "I was going to another one soon."  
"Its still better than what I could do." Zoe said. "Wow." Nick was also amazed with his.

They continued to look through the sketch book until Jess saw police escorting two very worried parents towards resus.

**(If you want to see Jess's drawing of Charlotte Salt - Well, mine - view it here. **** art/Charlotte-Salt-320311948**** Tell me if you think its good, okay, bad, could use work etc. All reviews welcome)**


	14. Chapter 14

"Are, are they Ryans parents?" Jess said, pointing outside the room.  
"I guess. They are going into his room." Zoe said, looking up. "I'd better go and talk to them. After all, he is my patient." Zoe got up and left the room, leaving Jess looking worried.

"Excuse me." Zoe said. "You are Ryans parents?"  
"Yes." They replied at the same time. Zoe tried to contain her anger. It wasn't them, it was only their son.  
"Follow me." She said, and lead them into his room. The police officer waited outside.  
"Why is he handcuffed to the bed rails?!" His mother asked, and Zoe had to think of what to say.  
"He has been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault." Zoe said, looking at the policeman outside.  
"What?" His father said to Zoe, towering over her.  
"He's been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault." She repeated, trying to keep calm. She could see where Ryan had gone his agressive nature from.  
"How?" His mother asked. "My Ryan wouldn't do anything like that."  
"What makes you so sure?" Zoe said, regretting it as it came out of her mouth.  
"Its my son." She said. "Why? Do you know any better?" She said with spite.  
"Um, well yes. Yes I do." Zoe said. Why was she saying this to her daughters attackers parents? She was in trouble.  
"What did you say?" Ryans father said, once again towering over her.  
"It, the person he assaulted was my daughter." She whispered, and didn't expect what was coming next. Ryans fathers fist smashed into her face, knocking her to the floor. The policeman ran in and grabbed him, with his wife shouting after him. Zoe stood up shakily.  
"Pay back." Ryan said, and Zoe looked at him.  
"Excuse me?" She spat in his direction.  
"Pay back. You put me in prison." He said, and Zoe stormed out, and into the staff room.

Nick saw the policeman drag the father outside, so he went to find Zoe. He went into Ryans room to see if she was there.  
"Looking for your wife? Yeah. My dads fist smacked her in the face." Ryan laughed.  
"You better watch your mouth son, or you will get a longer sentence." Nick hissed, and left the room. So Zoe was injured?

He went into the staff room and found her looking in the mirror. Zoe thought that it hurt more than it should have, for a simple punch, and it turned out that Ryans father was wearing brass knuckles. She had two cuts on the left side of her face where they had dug into her skin. Nick caught her dabbing at her face with a tissue.  
"Hey hey. Let me look at that." Nick said, taking the tissue off her and then dabbing it slowly. "He must have hit you with some force."  
"How did you know?" Zoe asked.  
"The police was dragging him out while he was shouting profanities, and I went to Ryans room and he sniggered and told me." Nick said.  
"Oh I just want to kill him Nick." She said, and winced. "Ouch."  
"I do too." Nick said. "Did you see stars or anything when he hit you?"  
"Yes." She said.  
"Let me tape up those cuts and then I want you to lay down." Nick said. "Seeing stars is never good."  
"I know." Zoe agreed, and followed Nick to a separate cubicle. Jess hoped that she was occupied with her sketch book for the time being.

"These are quite deep." Nick said, looking at them closer and in a good light.  
"Oh well." Zoe said. "They will just add to my growing collection of scars."  
"Oh the joys of being doctors." Nick chuckled, as he finished taping one of the cuts. "One more to go."  
"Hooray." Zoe said sarcastically, and winced when Nick prodded it by accident.  
"Sorry." He said, leaning down to kiss her softly. He finished taping and then sat next to her on the bed. "Go to the staff room and lay down for a while."  
"Im fine." She said.  
"Zoe, you know too well that you could have a concussion." Nick raised an eyebrow at her.  
"Fine." Zoe said. "But not for long. I want to talk to the police after what they did to me."  
"Good." Nick said. "What a terribly behaved family they were, aye."  
"I know." Zoe sighed. "At least we aren't like that."  
"No. We are loving..." He kissed her. "Friendly, and we have great senses of humor."  
"Yeah we do." Zoe said, laughing as Nick kissed her again. She deepened the kiss and put her hands on his chest in the process. Nick was first to pull away.  
"Now please go and rest." He said.  
"Half an hour?" Zoe asked.  
"We will see." Nick said, watching her enter the staff room, blowing him a kiss. He blew one back before going to see Jess.

"Nick?" Sam said as he walked in. "Why was Zoe going towards a cubicle?"  
"That thugs father punched her wearing brass knuckles." Nick said.  
"No!" Sam said, and Jess looked worried again. "Is she okay?"  
"I think she will be fine." Nick said. "I told her to rest for a while."  
"Good." Sam said.  
"What, so 'he' does something to me, then his father punches my mum?" Jess said. "I want to go to the police, now." Jess said. "I need them to know what he and his family have done."  
"But-"  
"I don't care if its early. I need to tell them. Now." Jess said.  
"We will see tomorrow." Sam said. "You need to recover, and so does Zoe. They can take statements from you both tomorrow."  
"But-"  
"Doctors orders." Nick said, and Jess leaned back into her bed and sighed. "Jess, I hope you don't mind that me and your mum will be going home tonight."  
"Good." Jess said. "You need your beds. I know how much I want mine."  
"Okay." Nick said. "You will get yours again in a few days."  
"Ugh I know! I want it now!" Jess said.  
"Are these beds not good enough?" Sam said, acting insulted.  
"No no its not that." Jess shook her head and Sam smiled. "Its just that its not my house."  
"I know, im only messing with you." She laughed and Jess through a pillow at her. Sam threw it back gently and Jess laughed.

"So what have you been drawing then?" Nick asked.  
"Oh, Im beginning to draw Linda. Its her birthday soon, right?" Jess replied.  
"Yeah, I think in three days?" He looked to Sam who nodded her head.  
"Well, I'm going to give it to her as a present." She said, and Nick smiled. "Im sure she will love it."  
"I hope she does. Curly hair is hard to draw." Jess said.  
"Well it will keep you busy then." Nick laughed, and Jess showed him what she had drawn first. "Its coming along."  
"Yeah, i'm no where near done yet!" Jess said. "Im going to need to see her to get all of her facial features right."  
"I have a picture." Sam said. "I will print if off for you later."  
"Thanks." Jess said, and continued to draw.  
"Im going to go and check on your mother." Nick said, and left the room. He walked over to the staff room and found Zoe asleep on the sofa. He went right up to her and felt her forehead. It was slightly warm, and he came to the conclusion that she would have a mild consussion. He wasn't surprised after that hit. He moved the hair out of the way of her forehead and kissed it, hoping it would give her sweet dreams.


	15. Chapter 15

Sam had to go and take care of another incoming casualty, so Jess was left on her own for a little while. Nick was still with Zoe in the staff room, so Jess continued with her drawing of Linda, for Linda. She wondered where Nick was. Maybe her mother was ill after what Ryans dad did.

The clatter of the doors opening made her jump. Everyone that knew what Jess had been through had always been quiet when opening the door as not to make her jump, but this time, an unknown woman stormed up to her, and she was frightened.  
"You're that doctor womans daughter, right?" she said, walking right up to the bed. "You look like her."  
"Why?" Jess asked in a whisper.  
"How dare you accuse my son of rape! Now he will go to prison, and his father!" She shouted.  
"Good! They both deserve it!" Jess shouted back. "Im thirteen years old! You think I wanted this?"  
"Tell them it wasn't him!"  
"No!" Jess said, and the woman grabbed her wrist and yanked it, making Jess almost fall off the bed. She scrambled to her feet and winced.  
"Whats wrong?" The woman said, in a sweet, sarcastic way.  
"Look under the support. You will see the bruises your son gave me." Jess spat, and was scared when the woman began to hold tighter.  
"It wasn't my son." the woman said, and Jess felt her spit on her face.  
"You weren't there!" Jess shouted, and tried to scream as she got grabbed around the face. The womans hand was covering her mouth and nose.

Jess was squeeling and panicking as she couldn't do much else. She began to run out of oxygen and she couldn't take anymore in. She could hear the woman breathing into her ear. Jess was about to pass out when the doors clattered open again and her father walked in. The woman saw him and threw Jess onto the floor with a force so Jess whacked her head on the bed rails. Now she was out, lying on the floor with a bleeding head.

"Security!" Nick shouted as he cornered the woman to keep her there. The security came running in and they dragged her away just like the policeman had done with Ryan's father.

As soon as she had gone, Nick rushed over to Jess who was unconscious on the floor. Some how the IV had managed to stay in.  
"Jess? Jess?" He said, turning her over and looking at her head. She had a cut there,but it didn't look too bad. It was bleeding though. "Sam!" He shouted as he picked Jess up and put her back on her bed. Sam didn't hear him. He took out his pager and paged her instead, thinking it would be quicker.

He was wiping Jess's head as Sam rushed in.  
"What happened?!" Sam asked, rushing over.  
"That crazy mother of her attack came and tried to suffocate her." Nick said. "I walked in and she threw her on the floor! She hit her head on the bed on the way down."  
"So what, that is all of them in trouble now?" Sam asked.  
"Looks like it doesnt it." Nick said, checking all Jess's vitals. "Her oxygen levels are high considering."  
"But thats good." Sam said. "Did you see how hard she hit her head?"  
"It was quite hard since the woman threw her down quite hard, but she was nearly out before it anyway." Nick said.  
"Alright." Sam said. "Lets get a CT done just to make sure."  
"Alright, I will book her in." Nick said, walking over to the phone.

As they were wheeling Jess down to the CT, Zoe was awake and was walking out of the staff room just as Jess was wheeled passed.  
"Sam, can you take her? Im going to talk to Zoe." Nick whispered, and Sam nodded, understanding.  
"What? Why is Jess going that way?" Zoe asked, heart beating faster.  
"She had a little incident with Ryans mother..." Nick explained.  
"What?!" Zoe said, freaking out a little. "What happened!?"  
"Ryans mother tried to suffocate her but I walked in the she threw Jess down. She hit her head on the side of her bed."  
"Oh my god did she lose consciousness?" Zoe asked, tears in her eyes.  
"Yes, but we don't know if it was from the suffocation or the head injury." Nick said, seeing Zoe go pale. "She is going down for a CT."  
"Sorry." Zoe said, running back into the staff room and only just making it to the sink. Nick held her hair as she threw up and handed her a tissue when she was finished. "I think I have concussion."  
"Me too." Nick said. "I checked on you while you slept and you had a bit of a temperature."  
"I did?" Zoe asked, and felt her forehead. She noticed her palms were sweating. "Woah." She said as she had a head rush and swayed agains't Nick.  
"Alright." Nick said, leading her over to the sofa. He layed her down and fetched a glass of water with a paracetamol. "I think this will help."  
"Thank you." Zoe said, taking the paracetamol and drinking the water to hopefully get rid of the taste of vomit. Nick kissed her forehead as he didn't want to kiss her lips at the moment.  
"I think you are a bit warmer than you were earlier." Nick said.  
"I know." Zoe said. "I feel worse than I did earlier."  
"Just rest for a little longer." Nick said. "Our shift ends soon so then I can take you home. Im sure Jess will understand."  
"Sam will tell her." Zoe said. "She has a sketch book that will keep her busy."  
"Yeah she does." Nick said. "Im going to go and see how her CT is going, okay?"  
"Was it that bad that she needed a CT?" Zoe whispered.  
"Sam wanted to give her one just to make sure." Nick said. "Im sure that there is nothing wrong."  
"Okay." Zoe said, as Nick kissed her forehead again before leaving the room to go to the CT.

He met them on their way back.  
"How did it go?" Nick asked.  
"All clear." Sam said, smiling. "She will wake up in her own time."  
"Alright." Nick said. "Im going to go a little earlier. Zoe isn't well."  
"Oh no!" Sam said. "Does she have a concussion?"  
"Yes." Nick said. "Running a temperature and threw up a few minutes ago." Nick explained.  
"Aww." Sam said. "Tell her I said to get better."  
"I will." Nick smiled. "Thank you." He leaned over the bed and kissed Jess on her forehead on the side that was't cut, but it was all bruised. He then left to go to his office, collect his things and take Zoe home.

Back in Jess's room, Sam was checking her pupils for a sign of concussion but they were fine. Sam was hoping that Jess escaped the concussion as she already had enough injuries to deal with.

Just as Sam was finishing off, Jess began to wake up, and Sam looked over her.  
"Wakey wakey." Sam said, smiling, and Jess put her hand to her forehead. It had a bandage on.  
"Ugh." She said groggily as she felt her newly aquired injury. "Great."  
"I still have to tape that up." Sam said. "But its not too bad."  
"Good." Jess said.  
"I need to ask you some questions to see if you have any signs of a concussion." Sam said, and Jess sighed.  
"Sure." Jess said.  
"What is your full name?"  
"Jess, well Jessica, Jordan." She said.  
"Your date of birth?"  
"Tenth of September 1996." She said.  
"What are you parents occupations?"  
"Doctors. Clinical and Trauma lead." Jess replied, and Sam smiled.  
"No hesitation, no concussion." Sam smiled. "Im going to get something to eat. Do you want anything?"  
"Yeah please. Im so hungry!" Jess said.  
"What would you like?" Sam asked.  
"Anything. Crisps?" Jess said, and Sam smiled.  
"Sure." She said, and left the room. Jess got off the bed slowly, grabbed her sketchbook off of the floor and began to carry on with the drawing of Linda.


	16. Chapter 16

Sam returned a little while later with the crisps and Jess ate them all. She couldn't remember the last time she had eaten.  
"Better?" Sam asked Jess put the bag down.  
"Yeah!" Jess said. "I was so hungry!"  
"I bet you were." Sams said.  
"Linda's birthday is in three days, right?" Jess asked.  
"Well three days today yeah." Sam said. "I need to print that picture for you don't I?"  
"Yeah." Jess replied.  
"I'll go do it now while we aren't busy." Sam said, and left the room. Jess wondered where her parents were. She would have to ask Sam where they were.

Sam returned ten minutes later with an A4 print out of Linda, and Jess was continuing to draw from memory.  
"Here." Sam said, handing it to Jess. Jess smiled at it.  
"Its a nice picture." Jess replied.  
"I know, I like it too." Sam said, seeing Jess's mind was elsewhere. "Whats up?"  
"Where are my parents?" She asked, and Sam sighed.  
"Your dad took your mum home." Sam said. "She wasn't very well."  
"Oh. Whats wrong with her?"  
"She got a concussion from the punch." Sam said. "So Nick took her home."  
"Oh right." Jess said.  
"I think they are staying at home for the night."  
"Okay." Jess replied. "Is Tom working night shift again?"  
"No, i'm afraid not." Sam shook her head.  
"Well, who is?"  
"Dylan." Sam said.  
"Oh." Jess said. She knew from when she sat in the staff room that Dylan wasn't very talkative. He was also quite rude.  
"He's not that bad..." Sam said.  
"Yeah.." Jess said. "One time when I was waiting for mum to finish work, he walking into the staff room and went 'oh, its you again'."  
"Thats just him." Sam said.  
"What, rude and annoying?"  
"Yep.  
"Alright." Jess said.  
"Can I see your drawing of Linda so far?" Sam asked, and Jess showed her. "Its coming along,"  
"I know. I couldn't do too much without the photo." Jess explained.  
"Oh right." Sam said, and looked at her watch. "I had better go and get ready to go. Don't worry about Dylan. He isn't all bad."  
"How do you know?" Jess asked.  
"Well, I work with him." Sam said, and saw that Jess knew she was hiding something. "And I'm kind of married to him. Bye!" She said, and left the room. Jess was gobsmacked. Since when were they married?  
"Sam!" She called, but Sam had already gone. Jess sighed and giggled to herself. Sam and Dylan? No. They were too different.

She continued to draw for an hour before Dylan decided to make an appearance.  
"I heard you were here." He said as he walked in. "Sam said you had an accident and you hit your head and that you could still get signs of a concussion but were clear so far. Look at me." He shined a light in her eyes unexpectedly.  
"Please would be nice." Jess said, not expecting him to be so forward.  
"Sorry. Please." He said, and carried on. Jess sighed, and was happy as he stood away. He left without saying another word.  
"So am I concussed or what?" She shouted, but he didn't come back. Sam must have been lying. How was she ever married to him?

She decided that Dylan was a good idea for a drawing. She opened to a new page in her sketchbook and began to draw. She could remember his face clearly as he had gone close to her to check for a concussion. She drew for hours on end, and she was soon finished as she was focused to finish it. She ripped the page out, and slowly stood up. Her legs were slightly wobbly as she hadn't stood up for a while. She slowly walked over to the side of the room, dragging the drip with her so that she didn't rip it out of her arm again.

She put the drawing on the side, where she knew that Dylan would find it. She wanted to make him act a bit more friendly to her, so she put her name at the bottom. She slowly walked back over to the bed, and she realised she was tired. She didn't want to sleep as she knew that that was when she would relive the nightmare.

She shut her eyes and waited for it to begin. She couldn't wait until it was over.

And soon came the feeling of her clothes being torn.  
"No, please." Jess said, and kept repeating it.

This scene played over and over.

An hour later, Dylan walking into Jess's room and found her asleep. He walked over to the work top to pick up her patient notes and read up on what had put her here in the first place. On top of the files was a picture. Dylan picked it up, and saw it was a drawing of him. He looked at it and saw how much it actually looked like him, and although he didn't show it on his face, he was thoroughly impressed.

He picked up the patient notes and put the drawing behind them, and he read them.

Sexual assault.  
Three broken ribs.  
Laceration to throat - required stitches.  
Mild concussion - was clear the next morning.  
Broken fingers to left hand.  
Severe bruises covering stomach, chest, back, face, ankles and wrists.

Dylan saw a new addition which he guessed Sam had writted down.

A bang to the head.

Wow was all Dylan thought. He looked at her age and was even more shocked. She was only thirteen and had suffered all of that? He should have been a bit more sympathetic to her instead of treating her like he did.

He took another look at her and saw that she was crying in her sleep.  
"Jess." He said, shaking her. He saw her squint her eyes in discomfort before opening them. She gasped as she did so, and Dylan handed her a tissue. Everyone seemed to be doing that nowadays.  
"Thanks for waking me up." Jess said, wiping her eyes. She didn't look at him, but she meant what she said.  
"Its... fine." Dylan said.  
"What time is it?"  
"Just gone twelve."  
"Midnight?"  
"Yes." Dylan said, before leaving the room again, holding the drawing. Jess didn't see that he was holding it.

Once Dylan had left, Jess's eyes wouldn't stop watering. The past few days had just played over and over in her head, so they were now fresh in her mind. She sighed as she willed herself to stop crying.

She thought of the drawing, and hoped Dylan had seen it. Maybe thats why he had just acted a bit nicer?

Her eyes wandered over to where she left it, and the drawing was gone. She looked in the bin near her bed, but nothing had been placed in it. He must have liked it, or at least taken it. She thought this was nice, and she smiled as sleep caught up with her. This time, she didn't dream about what happened the other night, but she didn't dream at all.


	17. Chapter 17

The next morning Jess woke feelingrefreshed for the first time in a long while. She still couldn't get over what had happened though, but knowing that Dylan had taken the picture, she finally got some well needed rest.

Nick came in the next morning, around seven thirty. Jess wanted to ask about her mother.  
"Where's mum?" She asked, seeing him walk in.  
"She is at home, but she wants to see you so i'm going to get her at lunch and bring her here.  
"Oh okay." Jess replied. "Is she alright?"  
"Yeah just a bit dizzy from yesterday." Nick said. "I heard you had a good night."  
"Yeah I did." Jess said. "Well Dylan woke me up just after midnight as I was crying in my sleep."  
"Oh Jess." Nick said.  
"I was glad though 'cause I drew Dylan and left it on the side. I saw that he had taken it and it was happy. I went to sleep again then." Jess told him.  
"You drew Dylan?"  
"Yeah." Jess said. "Don't ask me where it is."  
"I will try and find it later. I want to see." Nick said, wanting to see his face. Dylan never smiled at work so it would good to see what his facial expression was.  
"Okay." Jess laughed. "When do you start?"  
"Now." Nick said, and stood up. "Will you be alright until Sam checks on you?"  
"Yeah." Jess said, and Nick got up and left.  
"I will get Big Mac to bring you a cup of tea. He makes the best tea." He said as he got to the door.  
"Yay!" Jess said, and clapped her hands. "Awesome."  
"Alright." He said, nearly leaving. "Sams just coming."  
"Okay." She said, and picked up her sketchbook. She saw Linda just outside the door so she carried on.

"Hows that drawing coming along?" Sam asked as she walked in.  
"Im almost finished." Jess said. "Her birthday isn't tomorrow but is the day after, right?"  
"Yeah." Sam said. "Can I see?"  
"Yeah." Jess said, spinning around the sketch book.  
"Woah." Sam said. "I wish I could draw."  
"So you think she will like it?"  
"I think she will love it!" Sam said. "It looks exactly like her. Wow." She smiled at it.  
"Great." Jess said. "I want to put it in a frame too."  
"Im sure you dad will get you one." Sam said, as Big Mac walked in with the tea.  
"Aww thank you Big Mac!" Jess said, and grabbed the tea. The cup burnt her hands but she really didn't care. Sam laughed at how excited she was over the cup of tea.  
"Its not problem." Big Mac replied. "Enjoy."  
"Oh, you make great tea!" Jess exclaimed after taking a sip.  
"I have been known to." Big Mac said, blushing.  
"Well I know where to come for a great cup of tea." Jess said. "Ah its so good."  
"Glad you like it." He smiled, and looked at Sam. He pointed at Jess. "I like this girl."  
"Its Zoe and Nicks daughter." Sam said.  
"Yeah, it is." Jess replied.  
"Oh it is?!" He said. "Hows your mum? I heard about yesterday."  
"Ask my dad." Jess said. "I haven't seen her. She is coming in at lunch though."  
"Oh okay."Big Mac said, seeing someone outside. "I need to go. Enjoy your tea." He chuckled.  
"Oh I will!" Jess said, taking another sip.

Zoe arrived just after twelve thirty as Nick bought her in. She sat in the chair next to Jess's bed and they got chatting.  
"Oh Dad!" Jess said, just as he was about to go back to work.  
"What?" He asked.  
"Can you get me a photo frame? I want to put the drawing of Linda in it for her."  
"Sure. What size?"  
"Big enough for an A4 photo." Jess said.  
"Right. I will see what I can do after work for you." Nick said and spoke to Zoe. "Will you be alright to stay for a little longer while I get one?"  
"Yeah." Zoe replied.  
"Alright, I will see you later."

"Are you alright mum?" Jess asked, seeing the taping on her mothers head.  
"Yeah I'm fine!" Zoe said. "How are you? Last time I saw you you were being wheeled off for a CT scan."  
"Oh, i'm fine." Jess said.  
"No concussion?"  
"No. And CT came back clear."  
"Great." Zoe said.  
"Yep." She replied. "Did you know that Big Mac makes great tea?"  
"Yeah he made me some before I went home yesterday." Zoe giggled. "How do you know?"  
"Dad got him to bring me some." Jess said. "It was so good."  
"Haha." Zoe laughed. "Hows your drawing coming along?"  
"Im nearly finished." She said. "I don't want to do anymore today so I have something to do tomorrow."  
"I see." Zoe said, looking at the drawing. "Woah. It looks like a black and white photograph!"  
"Thanks." Jess said. She loved getting praised for her work.  
"She will love it." Zoe said, getting the sketch book to look through it again.

Later on, around six, Nick walked through the door. He was carrying two plastic bags.  
"I hope this is the right size." Nick said. "I even had her name put into it." He gave it to Jess.  
"Wow!" Jess said. "Yeah this is great!"  
"Good. I thought you would like this too." He said, giving her the other bag. She gasped when she saw it was from the Three store.  
"You didn't."  
"I did." He smiled.  
"Oh my god!" She said. "Samsung galaxy SIII?"  
"Yeah." Nick said. "I know what happened to your other phone, and I was going to get you a new one for your birthday anyway but I thought it would be more use to you now."  
"How much texts do I get?"  
"Well I know that you keep going over your limit so I got you a deal that gives you unlimited texts and data. You get five hundred minutes."  
"Oh my god!" Jess said. "I love you!" She flung her arms around her dad.  
"Look after it." She said.  
"Oh don't worry, I will!" Jess said.  
"Nick!" Zoe said. "How much did that all cost!?"  
"A lot." Nick said. "But its worth it. You know how much she used her phone."  
"Yeah I guess so." Zoe said, smiling at seeing Jess's face beaming. "Now yo uhave something to do tomorrow."  
"Yeah, im going to go on facebook and get everyone's numbers." Jess told them, and Zoe tutted, rubbed her head.  
"I will go and get you another paracetamol." Nick said to Zoe, seeing as she hadn't had one since they left the house.  
"I love you dad." Jess said, hugging him. "And I love you too mum." She hugged her too.  
"And I love you." Zoe said, kissing her forehead, and then Nickleft the room.

**(Sorry if this was boring! It was just a filler chapter! Hope you still enjoyed it even though much didn't happen... x)**


	18. Chapter 18

Once Nick had left, Zoe spoke to Jess a little more seriously.  
"Jess, do you feel ready yet to tell us what happened?" Zoe asked, and instantly regretted it. Jess's eyes filled with tears.  
"No." She shook her head. "I'm sorry."  
"Okay." Zoe said. "Im not going to push you for answers." Jess looked into her eyes and saw pure concern there.  
"I want to tell you but I see it enough in nightmares." Jess whispered and looked at her hands instead of her mother.  
"I know, but I want you to know that as soon as you tell someone, it will feel better." Zoe told her, placing a reassuring hand on her daughters.  
"Fine." Jess said, making a decision. "I want to tell you but I don't want to have to say it again. Record it and then show that to the police."  
"Alright." Zoe said, wanting to know what had happened to Jess so she would do anything to hear it. Zoe got her phone and began recording.  
"Where do you want me to start?" Jess asked.  
"From the beginning would be good place to start." Zoe smiled, making Jess feel a bit better.  
"I know." Jess said. "Um, so I was walking home from the school near the alley ways but I knew not to go in the alleys so I stayed by the main road. I had my earphones on, but it wasn't on loud as I wanted to hear cars around me..."  
"Good." Zoe said, pressing on.  
"I heard footsteps behind me, so I took out my earphones and turned around but no one was there. I walked a bit faster but then I heard laughing so I went to run." She looked at her mother with watery eyes. "Thats when someone grabbed me, putting their hand over my mouth so I couldn't speak."

Zoe could see Jess was struggling.  
"Its alright. Keep going when you can." Zoe said, looking at her. Jess began to speak again a few seconds later.  
"My phone fell on the floor and someone else stood on it and smashed it. Then they took me further into the alley and they took their hand off my face. I was screaming stuff like 'Get off me!' when they threw me into the corner where my head hit the fence first. Thats when I got the cut lip."  
"Okay." Zoe said, making sure her phone was still recording this.  
"Then he asked me who I was and called me Speccy." Jess said, taking a deep breath as her eyes began to sting with tears. "He said about how we sat at his table and he said I told my friend Emily about a facebook message he sent me. I tried to lie because I did tell Emily, but he didn't believe me. He grabbed my wrists really hard and it really hurt."  
"Keep going, you are doing great." Zoe told her daughter who looked to be on breaking point again.  
"I kept saying Sorry so maybe he would let me go but then he kicked me in the chest and it got really hard to breath. Then I said 'Please don't hurt me' and he punched me right here." She pointed to her head where most of the bruising was. "It got hard to see after that." Zoe stayed silent, hoping for Jess to carry on. It took her a while.  
"You can do it Jess." Zoe said, as she saw a tear slide down Jess's face. She watched her wipe it away and pause for a little while.  
"He told me I was going to pay." She said, nearly letting a sob out but she kept herself together. "Then he kicked me in the chest again and everything looked darker." Another pause took her as she tried to hold back sobs but she couldn't. She let a few out as her mother rubbed her back to try and calm her. She managed to get a few more words out. "Thats when he started grabbing at my clothes."

She was taken over my sobs as she relived it all in her head again. It was a good five minutes before she felt she could continue again. The recording was nearing ten minutes now.  
"Is there anything else?"  
"Yeah." Jess said, pulling herself together. She knew that there was only a little bit left and then the rest wasn't so bad. "I kept struggling against him holding me down, and then one of the other group members grabbed my ankles and pushed them hard against the floor so I couldn't more at all." She took a deep breath. "Then he punched me again and I don't remember anymore."  
"What happened after?" Zoe asked in a whisper, hoping Jess would get it all in one so she wouldn't have to tell it again.  
"I woke up in the alley and it was nearly dark." Jess said. "I didn't know what was going on so I tried to move but it really really hurt. My chest was the worst and when that hurt I nearly passed out again. I looked at my clothes and I started crying. They were covered in blood and ripped apart, and then I heard someone coming. I tried to move out the way as I didn't know who it was, but then I saw it was Miss Rowling."  
"You did great Jess." Zoe said, nearly crying at what her daughter had to go through.  
"Im not finished." She said. She was going to let Miss Rowling say the rest but then she found the confidence she needed. "She walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder but I flinched away. I couldn't help it. Then she started looking at my neck and I didn't know that anything was wrong. I put my hand there, and it felt weird. I pulled my hand away and it was red. All red." Jess sighed. "She told her husband to call and ambulance but I didn't want it. She did it anyway and i'm glad."  
"Why didn't you want it?" Zoe asked.  
"Because they would have taken me here and you would have found out. I didn't want you to see." Jess said, crying again, and going back to the story. "She kept telling me i'm safe, and then the paramedics got there. I saw it was Dixie and I tried to hide my face. It worked until she tried to lift my chin to see my neck, and I jumped, looked at her, and she couldn't hide the shock on her face."  
"Oh." Zoe said. She was still confused as to why Jess didn't want an ambulance.  
"Dixie hugged me then and I felt safer, but my chest was hurting again. She asked me to stand and walk to the ambulance, and I tried but my ankles were killing me, and my chest." Jess explained. "I can't remember any more." She watched as Zoe clicked off the record button on her phone. She began to cry again.  
"You did great Jess." Zoe said, pulling her into a hug. "You did great."

As Zoe was going to go home with Nick, Jess was left on her own. Zoe said she would give the police the message tomorrow so Jess was anxious. Big Mac had been in to give her a surprise cup of tea, and once again she loved it, but she couldn't enjoy it as much as she was too worried about what was going to happen tomorrow.

She played about on her phone for a while, and went on her facebook. She read the message again, and thought she would have to show her mother that to give to the police. She put up a status asking people to inbox their numbers so she could put them into her phone, but she didn't recieve many. She got a few friends, including Emily, but not Chloe.

She recieved a text from Emily soon after she sent her a message saying that that was her new number.

"Where were you at school this week?" It asked. Jess thought about her reply. She would get on the news with what had happened. She then decided to write:

"You will see soon enough."


	19. Chapter 19

Jess woke up quite late the next morning because she had cried a lot of the night and it had tired her out. It was getting on for ten thirty when she woke to someone doing something with her arm. It was Tess.  
"Sorry, I tried not to wake you."  
"Its fine." Jess said, sitting up. She saw that Tess was taking out the drip.  
"We think you are strong enough to go without the drip now. After all, you are going home tomorrow evening."  
"Evening?" Jess asked. It would be Sunday evening by the time she got home.  
"Yes." Tess replied. "We need to do x-rays to see how your ribs and fingers are healing."  
"Oh right." Jess said. "Just making sure, Linda's birthday is tomorrow, right?"  
"Yeah it is." Tess said.  
"I have a present for her and I want to give it to her. I'll have to do it in the morning." Jess said.  
"Oh what is it?" Tess asked.  
"A drawing of her." Jess said. "Want to see?"  
"Yeah, sure." Tess said, and Jess got her sketch book out. Tess looked at it in astonishment. "Wow, she is going to love that!"  
"I hope she does." Jess said. "Its taken me ages."  
"She will." Tess said, putting a bandage on Jess's arm. Jess winced. "Sorry."  
"Its alright." Jess said. "I expected it to hurt."  
"Oh." Tess said, finishing up.  
"Is my mum at work today?"  
"Yeah, she came in." Tess said. "She isn't in resus though and is in cubicles. We didn't give her very many jobs so she will probably come and see you soon. She already did once but you were still sleeping."  
"Oh." Jess said, reaching over to grab her pencil. She winced as she reached a bit too far and her ribs made her chest ache.  
"Woah, let me." Tess said, getting it for her.  
"Thanks." Jess said, and got to work on finishing the drawing.  
"I'll get someone to bring you some breakfast. I understand you haven't eaten anything big for a while."  
"No I haven't."  
"And you will need to eat as you have a blood test scheduled in a few hours time." Tess told her.  
"Oh, okay." Jess said. This came as a surprise.  
"If I see your mother, I will tell her you're awake."  
"Okay, thanks." Jess smiled at her as she left, and got to work on her drawing.

She didn't do much before Big Mac walked in carrying a tray of food for Jess. It consisted of a cup of tea, buttered toast and a few bits of bacon.  
"Wow! Thanks! Im so hungry!" Jess said, putting the tray on her little desk that went over the bed.  
"Enjoy." Big Mac said, pointing at her as she left the room. She saw her mother walk in as Big Mac walked out. Jess put the sketch book on the floor and tucked in while Zoe made herself comfortable on the chair next to her bed.  
"That nice?" She smiled, trying not to laugh as Jess stuffed her face.  
"Mmm hmm!" Jess said with a mouthful, and Zoe let her eat it.

When she was done, Jess was sipping her tea when she thought about something and her eyes went wide.  
"Whats up?" Zoe asked, seeing her expression change.  
"Have I been on the news yet?" Jess asked. She was excited which confused Zoe a little bit.  
"Not yet." Zoe said. "I haven't sent your name in. Do you want me to?"  
"Please." Jess said. "I know you probably don't want me to but I want to stop this happening to anyone else."  
"I think thats very brave." Zoe replied, and caught Jess looking at the side of her face.  
"Hows your...?" Jess pointed at it. She could see her mother had a bit of a black eye.  
"Oh its a lot better now." Zoe smiled. "They actually let me work today."  
"I know." Jess said. "I was talking to Tess." She picked up her phone and saw she had a message. It was from Emily.

"Why what happened?" Emily asked. Jess couldn't text the answer.

"Do you know when I will be on the news?" Jess asked.  
"Probably the afternoon bit. Three oclock im guessing."  
"Oh okay." Jess said, and began to text Emily.

"Check the news at three." Jess said back, and checked her facebook. A few more people had sent her their numbers.

"Why did you want to know?" Zoe asked Jess.  
"Emily was asking where I was, so I told her to watch the news at three." Jess said. "I don't want to explain to her."  
"Oh." Zoe said. She still didn't understand why Jess wanted everyone to know it was her that was the victim. "Are you sure you want to put your name out there? Reporters and everyone will want to talk to you."  
"But I want to talk to them." Jess replied. "Tell people what I want doing."  
"Alright. I will help you then." Zoe said. "If they want answers, they will get answers."  
"Exactly." Jess said. "Thank you." She finished off her tea and continued with the drawing. "Can I put on this TV? I want to see it when it comes on."  
"Sure." Zoe said, turning it on for her.

At three, Jess was waiting anxiously to see if her story was on the news. Zoe had given her name to the reporters, so it might be there. First was stories about politics, but these didn't bother Jess. She gasped when she saw her face appear.  
"A girl, age 13, has come forward as the victim of sexual assault in the Holby area that happened earlier this week." The reporter says. "Jess Jordan, who goes to Holby High School, has decided to come forward as she wants to raise awareness."  
"Yay!" Jess said, happily.  
"The girl suffered many injuries that night, including broken ribs and fingers, and a throat laceration." The news reporter continued. "She has been in hospital ever since."

The news forecast finished a little while later and Jess was ecstatic. They had shown her on the news, her name and school, and now everyone knew what a sort of guy Ryan Harding was. It also showed Zoe talking to some reporters outside the ED. She said about how brave Jess was and what she was doing putting her name there for the whole world to see.

Her phone buzzed, bringing her out of her little daydream and it was Emily. She had seen the news broadcast.

"Omg Jess I saw what happened! Are you okay?"

Jess smiled at how caring her friend was.

"Im fine. x" Jess replied, and almost instantly she recieved another message.

"How badly were you hurt? I heard what the news said but she said there was more." Emily said, and Jess listed all of her injuries.

"Broken fingers, ribs, bruised chest, head, wrists and ankles, cut throat and lip, oh and a bang to the head too but that happened here when Ryans wacky mum suffocated me and threw me to the ground!" Jess said, happy that she could tell her friend and she wouldn't judge.

"It said on the news that Ryan was a suspect. So it was really him?"

"Yeah, and his father punched my mum, giving her a concussion!" She said. "I have to go. My dads here." She put her phone down she she didn't see the reply from her friend just yet. Nick walked in and gave her a hug. "Congrats."  
"For what?"  
"For getting what you wanted." Nick said. "You got on the news."  
"Mum helped me." Jess smiled.  
"Come here." He said, kissing Zoe and hugging her. "So you told the police?"  
"Well I told Mum and she recorded it to tell them. I can't tell the story twice." Jess told him.  
"Oh right." Nick said, as Jess switched off the TV. "Enjoying your phone?"  
"Yeah I am." Jess said. "Its so much better than my blackberry."  
"I bet it is at that price." Nick said, and the whole family began to chat.

**(Sorry! Couldn't think of a good way to end that chapter! The next chapter will be Linda's birthday and Jess going home, then the drama will be back...)**


	20. Chapter 20

That night, Jess had finished her drawing of Linda and had secured it in the frame ready to give it too her tomorrow.

She had a lot to think about now. Reporters had been in to talk to her and she spoke all she could before they were finallyhappywith what they had and they left her alone. She had a lot to think about now.

She was having second thoughts for going out on the news. She knew people at school would ask her so many questions, and maybe she didn't want to answer them. They had all laughed at her that day in the canteen, so she wasn't going to forgive them that easily. Having people ask her about it would constantly remind her of what she had been through, and thinking about it, she didn't want it. Once again, she cried herself to sleep, and nightmares over took her once again.

This time she woke on her own, glad no one saw her crying in her sleep. She woke at the right time, because after pulling herself together, Tom walked in on night shift again.  
"Oh, you're awake?" He said. "Its just gone two in the morning."  
"Bad dreams." Jess told him, tears stinging at her eyes again.  
"Do you want anything? Hot chocolate or something? That will help you sleep better."  
"Yeah please." Jess nodded and watched Tom leave the room. She let the final tears spill out, on watch of Toms arrival, and wiped them away just before he got back.  
"Here." Tom said, handing it to her. It even came with cream and marshmellows.  
"Mmm." She said, taking a sip. It was heavenly.  
"Good?" He asked.  
"Yeah great." Jess said, taking another sip.

Tom had to leave to sort out an incoming casualty and Jess finished her hot chocolate on her own. When she was finished, she did feel a lot better, but it wouldn't wash the memories away.

The next morning Jess woke and she was excited to be awake. She dreamed yet again of what happened, and shewas glad she was back to reality. She picked up her phone and checked her twitter. She gasped when she saw her number of followers had rocketed over one thousand when she only had a few hundred. She looked at her mentions and there were people wishing her all the best and told her she was brave. There were too many to reply to. She was nearly crying with joy for a change.

She tried to retweet them all but only managed a few. She put a message up to say thank you and almost instantly her phone began to pick up notifications of people sharing what she had written.

Zoe and Nick arrived to work and the first thing that dad like every other morning was see how their daughter was. They walked in to see her smiling at her phone.  
"Someone is cheerful." Zoe smiled, walking over and kissing her forehead. Zoe kept looking at Jess's phone as it kept vibrating. "Popular?"  
"Yeah!" She said. "My twitter is going mad with people saying Well done or congratulations."  
"I thought it would." Zoe said. "People will start to look up to you, you know."  
"I know now!" Jess said, beaming. She looked out of the door and saw Linda. "CanI give her her present? I wrapped it and everything."  
"Sure." Zoe said. "When did your drip go?"  
"Tess took it out yesterday morning." Jess said, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. she jumped on to the floor and her legs gave way. She would have hit the floor if Nick hadn't caught her.  
"Woah take it easy." He said, propping her back up. "Your legs need to get used to it again."  
"Alright." Jess said, finding it weird how her legs just did that without warning. She walked around to the other side of the bed where the drawing was, and took it out of the bag. It was wrapped up neatly in pink wrapping paper, and she held it tightly.

She walked out with it in her arms, as she walked up to Linda by the front desk.  
"Linda?" She said, making Linda turn around to face her. "Happy Birthday!"  
"Aww thank you!" She took the present from Jess and began to unwrap it. She saw it was a framed drawing of her. "Oh my god did you do this?!"  
"Yeah." Jess said, grinning.  
"Its so good wow!" Linda said, looking at how much it looked like her. "Woah." Jess just stood there grinning at Linda who obviously liked her present. Nick and Zoe were watching. "Thank you." Linda said, wrapping her arms around Jess who winced as her ribs hurt. "Sorry."  
"Its fine!" Jess said. "Im glad you like it."  
"Like it? More like love it. Thank you."  
"Its fine." Jess smiled.  
"That will be going on the wall as soon as I get home later." Linda said, hugging Jess again. "Thank you I really love it." Jess giggled.  
"Its fine!" Jess laughed with her.  
"I will go and put it in my locker, keep it safe." Linda said. "Thanks again." She walked away and Jess walked over to Nick and Zoe, and hugged them both. They put their arms around her and Nick kissed her head.  
"I think we had better get you up to x-ray then, shall we?" Zoe said, and Jess sighed.  
"Yeah I guess." She said, walking back into her room and getting back in the bed.

They took her down for the X-ray, and bought her back up. They were just waiting for the results now that that Sam had just brought in.  
"The ribs and fingers are healing nicely." Sam said, with a positive tone of voice. "We just have to do a quick blood test to check for anything abnormal, and if its clear, you are free to leave."  
"Okay." Jess said. She would be happy to leave, but would miss Big Macs tea.

Sam got all the equipment ready, and because Zoe had taken the day off to get Jess home, she stayed with her daughter. Sam tied some material just above Jess's elbow and then inserted the needle. This stung and Jess's eyes watered but she had been expecting it.

Sam untied the material, and then slowly pulled out the needle and put some cotton wool on the injection site. She put a plaster over the top and went to get the results.

Some time later the results came back clear.  
"You are free to go." Sam told Jess who jumped in excitement. Her ankles hurt as she did so because they were still bruised. "I suggest resting over the weekend so you will be well enough to go to school on monday." Jess was dreading going back to school.  
"Okay." Jess said.  
"And you will have to come for a check up in six months to see if anything has changed..." She trailed of and Zoe knew that it was a check for STIs that wouldn't show up right now.  
"Okay. Can we go now?" She picked up her sketch book and Zoe laughed.  
"Yes, we can go." She said, and the two of them left, glad to get home.


	21. Chapter 21

The next couple of days passed, and Jess was still at home resting. Zoe was just on her way out of work when she saw Sam and a plan suddenly came into her head.  
"Sam?"  
"Yeah?" She replied. She was just about to leave.  
"Want to come over? Have a drink?" Sam thought about it for a moment, and came to a decision.  
"Sure." Sam smiled. "It will be good to get out of house again."  
"Great. I can drive you?"  
"Yeah, cool. I ran here in the first place." Sam said, glad for the lift.

On the ride home, they were listening to the radio when the news came on.  
"Earlier today, a man in him late fortys managed to escape from prison." The reporter said and Zoe looked at Sam.  
"Thats weird." Zoe said. "Not many people escape from prison."  
"No." Sam shook her head as they pulled up infront of the Jordan house hold. She saw that Nick's car was gone. "Is Nick working late?"  
"Yeah, he starts in like ten minutes." Zoe told her as she got out of the car.  
"Is Jess here?"  
"Yeah, should be upstairs." Zoe said.

They entered the house and Jess came running down the stairs.  
"Jess take it easy!" Zoe scolded. "You are supposed to be resting."  
"Im fine." Jess said. "Im going to school on monday."  
"Still be careful." Zoe said. "We don't want anymore injuries to stop you."  
"I guess so." Jess said. "Hey Sam."  
"Hey. You alright?"  
"Yeah you?"  
"Yeah i'm good." Jess said, and trudged back upstairs.

"So, I have wine, vodka.." Zoe said.  
"Just wine please." Sam said. "I have to get home."  
"Oh yeah." Zoe said, and poured a glass and handed it to her. Zoe got herself some and they both headed into the living room.  
"How is Jess's neck healing?"  
"Its healing well." Zoe said. "She still has nightmares though."  
"Oh bless her." Sam said. "Then again, I probably would too."  
"And me." Zoe explained, hearing a noise in the front garden.  
"What was that?" Sam asked as Zoe walked up to the window to have a look.  
"I'm not sure..." She said, and the front door whacked open. Sam peeked around the door to see who it was.  
"Uh Zoe?" Sam looked very worried. "I think i've found the forty year old missing from prison..."  
"What?" She asked, panicking.  
"That Ryans father it coming!" Sam said, pulling her head out of the way of the door.

He burst in, fuming, and he saw Zoe. He walked up to her as she tried to cower away. He put his arm around her head, putting her in a headlock.  
"Zoe!" Sam called and the man flicked his head around to her. He pulled a gun from his back pocket and pointed it at Sam.  
"Don't move." The man to Sam, and she flicked up her hands up to say surrender.  
"Put the gun down." Sam said, inching slowly towards him.  
"Don't come any closer." He said. "She needs to pay for putting my family in prison."  
"You need to pay for punching me, your son needs to pay for raping my daughter and your wife needs to pay for suffocating her!" Zoe said, and he held her tighter.  
"Please put the gun down and we can sort something out." Sam said, inching closer.

What they didn't know was that Jess had heard noise and was standing just outside the door. She had called the police, and they would be there soon.  
"I said don't come any closer!" The man said. "I will shoot you."  
"Sam don't!" Zoe said, as she inched forward again. The man moved his finger on the trigger. Zoe acted on her instincts and pushed the mans hand away, and instead of shooting Sam, he shot at the door.  
"Crap." He muttered, hearing the sirens. He legged it from the room, but Sam tried to stop him. She blocked the door with her body but he slammed his fist into her stomach and she fell to the floor, winded.

Zoe got her breath back when she heard noise in the hall way. It sounded like a bag being thrown onto the floor. She went to investigate, and was shocked at what she saw.  
"Jess!" Zoe said, kneeling down next to her. "Jess? Can you hear me?" Zoe's eyes were filling with tears. Jess had a bullet in her chest.  
"Hmm." Jess said, looking at her mother. "Im sorry."  
"Don't be." She replied. "Sam!"  
"Yeah?" Sam got up, slowly, while she was holding her stomach. She was still getting her breath back. She walked into the hallway and forgot about her stomach. She rushed over to Jess who was bleeding.  
"Who called the police?" Zoe asked, and Sam shrugged.  
"Me." Jess rasped. "I did. I heard him and I came down."  
"Shh shh." Zoe said, wiping Jess's and her own tears away.  
"I will call an ambulance." Sam said, getting up, wincing because of the stomach pain. She grabbed the phone and dialled 999.

Back at the ED, Nick was having a busy shift. But to make it worse, the red phone rang and Charlie answered it.  
"Victim of a shooting, incoming five minutes." Charlie said.  
"Lets get resus ready." Nick said.  
"Nick." Charlie said, and summoned him over.  
"What Charlie?" Nick asked. "What is it?"  
"The call was made from your address." Charlie told him.  
"What?" Nick asked. "Who was it?"  
"Im not sure." Charlie said. "They didn't say their age."  
"Oh." Nick said, heart pounding in his chest. "Right. Resus."  
"No Nick." Charlie said. "You can't treat family." Nicks eyes began to sting.  
"Im going to help Charlie." Nick said. "I can't sit and do nothing."  
"Fine. Assess, but don't treat." Charlie said. "Thats my last offer."  
"Deal." Nick said, rushing outside to meet them as they came in.

"Zoe? Zoe?" Dixie said as her and Jeff rushed through the door.  
"Im fine!" Zoe cried. "Its Jess."  
"Jess?" Dixie said, kneeling down to assess. "Thats deep."  
"It was close range." Sam said.  
"We need to get her to Holby, fast." Dixie grimaced. "Lets get her on the trolley."

Arriving at the ED, Nick was anxious to see who it was. He was standing outside with Tom and Dylan as the ambulance pulled up. Nick wanted to scream knowing that someone hurt their family again.

He saw Zoe get out of the ambulance perfectly fine, so he knew it was Jess that had been hurt. Sam jumped out after Zoe, and they began to unload the trolley. It was Jess.  
"Dad." Jess cried as she saw him. His face was blurring before her eyes.  
"Shh." Nick said as they wheeled her into resus. "You're going to be fine."  
"No i'm not. Be truthful dad." Jess smiled.  
"Don't talk like that. You will be fine." Zoe said.  
"I've been shot mum. Im not fine." Jess said, as they began setting up equiptment.  
"Give her some adrenaline. Her pulse is weak." Dylan instructed. "Book in theatre, would you?" He asked Tom.  
"Yeah." Tom went and did as he asked.

"I love you mum. I love you dad." Jess said as her eyesight blurred. Her breathing became laboured and the monitors started to been. Charlie tried to drag Zoe and Nick outside, just as Jess lost consciousness.


	22. Chapter 22

Later, Jess slowly opened her eyes and squinted at the light that entered her eyes. She flicked her hand up to cover her eyes while she let them adjust. When she could safely open her eyes, she looked around. Everything was still blurry, but she could see someone sitting next to her bed.  
"Hey." They said, and Jess tried to blink so the blurriness disappeared. She recognised the voice as her mother.  
"What hap-" She cleared her throat as her voice was croaky. "What happened?"  
"Do you not remember?" Zoe asked Jess.  
"No." She shook her head. She vaguely remembered that a strange man entered their home.  
"Well, Ryans dad escaped from prison, broke in to our house and tried to shoot Sam." Zoe said. "But he shot you."  
"Oh." Jess whispered. "Where?"  
"What?"  
"Where did he shoot me?"  
"Right there." Zoe pointed to the center of her own chest. Jess wondered why she ached. "How do you feel?"  
"Weird." Jess said.  
"That will be the morphine." Zoe said. "Fuzzy?"  
"...Yeah." Jess said, rubbing her eyes to try and stop it all being blurry. She felt something pull at the back of her hand. She saw she had another IV drip there. "What day is it?"  
"Monday." Zoe said.  
"I was supposed to go to school today." Jess smiled.  
"No." Zoe said. "You were supposed to go to school last monday." The smile was wiped off of Jess's face.  
"What?"  
"You've been out for just over a week Jess." Zoe said, voice wobbling at the end.  
"I, I have?" Jess said looking at the clock. It was just about half past twelve. Her mother was probably on her lunch break. Zoe nodded at her.  
"You scared the hell out of me Jess." Zoe said, beginning to cry. She hugged Jess, but Jess just sat there, dumb founded. She had been asleep for over a week?  
"How?" Jess asked.  
"You nearly died." Zoe pulled out of the hug and sat back down. "Well, technically you did for five minutes." Jess just sat there with wide eyes. "Jess?"  
"I died?" Jess asked, eyes tearing up. Zoe nodded again and started to play with Jess's hair. Jess didn't seem to mind at the minute like she had done before. "So am I going to be okay?"  
"Yeah." Zoe said. "You had pretty extensive surgery to fix it."  
"I did?" Jess looked at her mother again. Again Zoe nodded. "What about Sam?"  
"What about her?"  
"I can just see her. Was she there will me?"  
"Yes she was." Zoe said.  
"Is she okay?"  
"She got a bit battered and bruised but she is fine. She's been looking after you these passed few days." Zoe explained.  
"Did they catch Ryans dad?" Jess let tears fall down her face.  
"Yeah they did. Thanks to you." Zoe smiled.  
"What did I do?" Jess asked as she couldn't remember.  
"You called the police and they got there just as he shot you." Zoe said. "They caught him as soon as he left the house."

Jess didn't know what to do. This was all too much. She looked up, dazed, and her mother looked concerned.  
"So, I get raped and shot, all in one week, and all caused by one family?" Jess said, looking into the air, not at anything in perticular.  
"Im sorry." Zoe said, watching Jess shut her eyes. "I have to go back to work." She didn't get a reply, so she stood up and left quietly, tears streaming down her face.

Nick walked into the staff room to find Zoe sat there, crying.  
"Zoe whats wrong?" He rushed over and sat next to her.  
"I can't get it out of my head that this is all my fault."  
"What is?"  
"Jess getting shot." Zoe said. "I think about it all the time, and I can't help but feel guilty." Nick hugged her.  
"What are you talking about?" Nick asked. "She was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time."  
"No." Zoe shook her head against his chest. "He had me in a headlock and the gun pointed at Sam. He was going to shoot her!"  
"But he didn't."  
"No, because I pushed his hand at the last minute and he shot the door instead. I thought he hadn't got anyone, until I went out and saw her on the floor. Ever since then I knew it was my fault." She explained.  
"No don't think that." Nick said. "You couldn't have known Jess was there."  
"But I still made him shoot her." Zoe began to sob. Nick felt helpless just hugging her but there wasn't much else he could do.  
"Look Zo, no one blames you. Sam probably wouldn't have survived at that close a range. The door slowed the bullet down so it didn't do Jess asmuch damage as it would have done Sam."  
"But Jess nearly died for gods sake Nick!" Zoe said. "And I caused it!"  
"Sam would have died if you didn't do what you did. You saved her, Zo." Nick explained.  
"And chose to hurt my own daughter."  
"You didn't choose to hurt her." Nick said. "You had no way of knowing she was going to be there."  
"But I still hurt her." Zoe sobbed.  
"No, that man did. You didn't." Nick said.  
"But-"  
"No buts Zoe. This wasn't your fault."  
"But-"  
"Listen to me." Nick said to his wife. "No one blames you! You acted in self defence, and Jess just happened to be on the recieving end. He would have killed someone if you didn't do what you did. A life was spared Zoe, you saved them." Nick continued to hold Zoe while she cried, and she calmed down after a little while.  
"I just feel so guilty." Zoe said, wiping her eyes.  
"Well don't. You did something that would have given the best outcome of the situation."  
"How did I?"  
"It was either that Sam died, or Jess got hurt but survived." Nick said. "You saved them both."  
"But Jess had to get hurt." Zoe said. "Again."  
"I know." Nick said glumly. "But she is still with us, as is Sam."  
"I guess." Zoe said. "I was talking to Jess earlier but I had to leave. I couldn't bare to look at what I had done."  
"She woke up?" Nick asked, and Zoe nodded. "Im going to go and see her. Are you coming?"  
"Yeah." Zoe said, and they walked to Jess's room.

They walked in and found her asleep.  
"She was probably tired." Zoe said. "She was awake before."  
"Alright." Nick said. "I will get Sam to check her over when I see her."  
"Okay." Zoe replied, and watched Nick kiss Jess's forehead. This made her want to cry more. Nick noticed and walked over and pulled him into his arms again. She sobbed again, and Nick whispered in her ear.  
"Its going to be fine, Zo. Don't you worry."


	23. Chapter 23

Nicks pager went off and as he saw it was Sam, he went running. He had asked Sam to notify him if Jess showed signs of waking up.  
"Sam?" He said, rushing into the room. "You paged?"  
"Yeah she was walking in her sleep and then she started to wake." Sam said. "She's not fully awake yet but she is getting there."  
"Oh right." Nick said, walking over and sitting next to the bed. "Jess?" He didn't recieve an answer for a while.  
"Dad?" Jess croaked as she opened her eyes.  
"Yeah its me."  
"It hurts." Jess said, tears falling down her face again. Sam walked over.  
"Sam's going to give you some more pain relief, okay?" Nick said, and Jess nodded. Nick saw her visibly relax as the morphine began to take effect. "Is that better?" Jess nodded and a smile took over her face. "Do you know what happened?"  
"Yeah mum told me." Jess said. "I wanted to go to school though."  
"Oh you won't be going there for a while." Nick said. "Miss Rowling asked if you were okay, and that was hard to tell her."  
"It was?"  
"Yeah!" Nick said. "She said she was going to come and see you when you woke again so I guess that will keep you occupied for a while."  
"She knows I got shot?"  
"Yes." Nick replied. "I've recieved no end of messages from your friends asking if you were okay."  
"You have?" Jess asked. "How do they know?"  
"The news." Nick said. "They showed where they found Ryans dad."  
"Oh." Jess yawned.  
"Still tired?" Nick asked, and took hold of her hand. The IV pulled and Jess winced.  
"Dad that hurts." Jess said, and he put her hand down.  
"Sorry." He said. "Now rest more. Get your strength up.  
"Okay." Jess said already fighting her eyelids to stay awake.  
"Sleep well." Nick said, but he was sure she was already asleep.

Nick went to find Zoe, and she was outside having a smoke.  
"Zoe you know those are bad for you." Nick sighed.  
"Yes I know perfectly well." She turned to look at him. She had been crying again.  
"Zoe, is this all still bothering you?"  
"Yes." Zoe said. "It was my fault. Why shouldn't it bother me?"  
"It wasn't your fault." Nick shook his head and she dropped the cigarette on the floor and squashed it with her heels.  
"Yes it was Nick and you know it." Zoe said. "If I hadn't have moved him out the way then she wouldn't be dead."  
"Maybe not." Nick shrugged. "But he would have killed Sam." Zoe sobbed as he said this. "I know which I would prefer Zoe. I would prefer to have them both here, not only one."  
"So you are glad Jess got hurt?" Zoe said, confused.  
"I would prefer obviously that neither got hurt." Nick said. "But if I had to pick out of losing one or none, i'd pick none!"  
"I know that." Zoe said. "But I am responsible for Jess getting shot."  
"No, that idiot man was." Nick said, annoyed that Zoe was blaming herself.  
"No, I was!" Zoe shouted. Sam was just walking up to them to talk to them about Jess. "I was the one that made him shoot Jess instead of Sam! I wish I could take it back, a, and Jess wouldn't have gotten hurt again." Sam stopped in her tracks. Zoe gasped as she saw her. Zoe knew Sam had heard what she had said, and Zoe ran into the hospital. Sam was nearly in tears.

Nick turned around and saw Sam stood there.  
"Sam, she didn't mean it." Nick explained.  
"I know." Sam said, a slight wobble in her voice. "Id rather the bullet got me instead of Jess too." She turned around, silently crying on her return to Jess's bedside.

Nick ran into the staff room to find Zoe crying on the sofa again.  
"Im a terrible person." Zoe cried. "I shoot my daughter, and I say I would have rather shot my best friend right in front of her."  
"You didn't shoot anyone Zoe!" Nick raised his voice, hoping she would listen. "You saved Sam's life! She would have died if you didn't!"  
"But Jess-"  
"Yes Jess payed a small price for it! You still saved Sam's life!" Nick shouted. "Just please stop beating yourself up about it! It wasn't your fault!"  
"I don't care." Zoe said. "Im still responsible for Jess's injuries."  
"No you aren't!" Nick said, sitting next to her. "Trust me. It was all him. Not you. Please don't beat yourself up about it. Go and apologise to Sam. She said she understood but I still think you should apologise."  
"I will." Zoe said. "I feel bad."  
"Don't. It was all said in the heat of the moment. Sam said she understands, but apologise."  
"I will, where is she?"  
"Jess's room." Nick replied. Zoe wiped her eyes and walked into Jess's room.

Sam was sat by the bed, holding Jess's hand while leaning her head on her other hand propped up by her elbow.  
"Sam?" Zoe said, and Sam sat up, and wiped her eyes. Zoe felt bad for making her cry.  
"Yeah?" Sam smiled at her, trying to not show the tears.  
"Im so sorry. I didn't mean what I said." Zoe said. "I just got... annoyed that it was all happening to Jess."  
"I feel the same." Sam smiled. "I understood. A mother protecting a daughter will do anything not to hurt her."  
"I know but I didn't mean that I wanted it to be you." Zoe said. "I just meant that Id rather it be no one. If only Jess hadn't been there or the bullet had missed."  
"I know Zoe." Sam stood up, tears in her eyes. "I said I understood." Zoe looked as if she was going to cry again. "Come here."

Both hugged and cried on each others shoulders.  
"Im so sorry." Zoe sobbed into Sams shoulder.  
"Don't be." Sam whispered. "You did what anyone would have done. Don't beat yourself up over it." They pulled apart and smiled at each other. They were glad for each others friendships.

**(Sorry for the late update!)**


	24. Chapter 24

The pulled apart and looked at each other, and both started to giggle through their tears.  
"Look at us." Sam laughed while wiping her eyes.  
"I know." Zoe smiled. "I really am sorry Sam. I ddn't mean it."  
"I know." Sam said. "Don't worry about it."  
"So when will she wake up again?" Zoe asked.  
"Probably in a few hours. She's dosed up on morphine. She woke up in pain so we gave her some more." Sam explained. "She's been through so much bless her."  
"I know. I wish he had shot me instead." Zoe said. "She's been through more in this week than anyone would have."  
"She's a tough girl Zoe." Sam said. "She will be fine."  
"I just don't know how she will cope. She had nightmares at home before she came in here again." Zoe said sadly. "Doesn't get much sleep."  
"It will get better as time goes on." Sam said. "If it gets too bad you can always take her to a therapist..."  
"I'll see how it goes first." Zoe said. "See if this all calms down a bit before I do anything."  
"Alright." Sam said. "Im going to go and get a coffee. Do you want one?"  
"Yes, please." Zoe replied, and sat down with Jess while Sam got the coffee.

A few hours later, Zoe and Nick were getting ready to go home for the night when Jess began to wake again. Zoe walked over and started stroking Jess's forehead while Nick watching on. Jess's eyes opened and she smiled as she could see both of her parents.  
"Hey sweety." Zoe said.  
"Hey." Jess whispered. "Where are you going?"  
"Home." Nick said. "Its dinner time."  
"It is?" Jess said. "Oh."  
"Yes." Zoe said. "I can stay if you want me too."  
"No you don't have too." Jess said. "I'll be fine."  
"Okay?" Zoe said. "We will see you tomorrow morning."  
"Bye." Jess said as they left the room.

Later that night, Jess woke up from fevered dreams. She was sweating but cold, and was whimpering. She coughed but it hurt her chest. She struggled around a bit, and she heard beeping coming from the monitors. It got hard to breath all of a sudden.

She saw Tom run in.  
"Jess? Jess?"  
"It hurts." She croaked and began to cough. Linda rushed in, obviously also on night shift.  
"She's tachicardic." Tom said as Linda put the oxygen mask over Jess's face which helped her to breath a bit better. Jess shut her eyes because she was tired. She didn't get told to open them so she guessed it was okay. She fell asleep again.

"It looks like a chest infection to me." Linda said. "Chesty cough..."  
"Yes I think you're right. I'll get her some anti biotics to help with it." Tom said, and left the room.

Zoe and Nick arrived in the morning to be greeted by Sam.  
"Jess had a bit of a complication last night." Sam explained. "She has a chest infection."  
"How bad is it?" Nick asked, seeing Zoe's worried face.  
"Not too bad. She woke with a fever and found it hard to breath. She was tachicardic but is fine now." Sam said. "She is on antibiotics."  
"Okay." Zoe said. "Is she awake?"  
"Yes she woke up a few minutes ago." Sam said.  
"Can we go see her?" Nick asked.  
"Of course you can! I can't stop you!" Sam smiled.  
"Thanks." Nick smiled back as they stepped into the room.

"Hey." Jess said, and coughed. Nick winced as it sounded bad.  
"How are you feeling?" Nick asked as Zoe walked over and felt Jess's forehead.  
"You're warm." Zoe said.  
"I know." Jess said. "And im not the best but... yeah."  
"Thats understandable." Nick said, laughing as Jess slapped her mothers hand away from her own forehead.  
"Mum stop it i'm fine." Jess smiled.  
"Sorry its just I don't like knowing you have a fever." Zoe said, looking at her.  
"It will be gone soon, don't worry." Jess said. "I have antibiotics!"  
"I know you do." Nick chuckled. "Im going to go and get set up. You can stay for a little while if you want."  
"Yeah i'll stay." Zoe said, just as Jess coughed again. Zoe patted her on the back.  
"Thanks." Jess croaked as the coughing fit subsided.  
"It sounds nasty." Zoe said looking at her with concern.  
"Well I have a chest infection so yeah it is nasty." Jess laughed which ended in another coughing fit. "Ouch."  
"Does it hurt?"  
"Well yeah I was shot." Jess said. "Duh."  
"Im sorry I know." Zoe said looking guilty.  
"Whats that matter mum?" Jess asked.  
"I just feel bad to everything that happened to you." Zoe said.  
"Why?" Jess asked. "Its not your fault."  
"I can't help feeling like it is." Zoe said. "When you got shot. I pushed his arm out of the way so the bullet missed Sam but it hit you instead. I feel so guilty."  
"Don't." Jess said. "You didn't know I was there."  
"But I made him shoot you."  
"You didn't mean to!" Jess said, looking at her mother and seeing shame in her eyes. "Don't feel bad." Jess's eyes began to water.  
"I can't help it."  
"Mum." Jess said, sounding stern. "Don't blame yourself. Please. Mum look at me." Zoe looked at her. "You didn't cause this."  
"Im sorry." Zoe said, seeing tears in Jess's eyes and then her own began to built.  
"Mum stop it!" Jess said. "Don't feel bad. You said the bullet missed Sam. What if you hadn't have done that? Then it would be Sam here."  
"I guess." Zoe said.  
"See?" Jess said. "It wasn't your fault. Im sure Sam is extremely glad that you saved her life!" Zoe smiled at her daughter.  
"You never fail to cheer me up." Zoe said and hugs her daughter.  
"Ouch mum." Jess said, and rubs her chest.  
"Sorry." Zoe said. "I had better get to work."  
"Okay." Jess said.  
"Bye."  
"Bye."


	25. Chapter 25

Two weeks later Jess was back at home and had recovered from the chest infection. Her chest was still aching but she was on the mend. At her time in the hospital she filled up her sketch book with drawing of staff and family and showed everyone. They were all impressed.

What she did miss was Big Macs special tea. Zoe couldn't make it the same. But she did enjoys Nicks special hot chocolate every night.

She was well enough to go back to school tomorrow and was a bit scared. She hadn't been back since Ryan was arrested. She didn't know how everyone was going to react at school, knowing what had happened.

She went downstairs the night before and tried to take her mind off of it by watching the TV.  
"Jess?" Her father said as she stared into space.  
"Yeah?" She replied, snapping out of her daze.  
"Are you alright?" He sat up and looked at her.  
"Yeah i'm fine, why?"  
"I've watched you sit there for ten minutes looking at absolutely nothing."  
"Thats no true. I was looking at the air." Jess said and Nick smiled.  
"Are you worried about tomorrow?"  
"A little." Jess admitted.  
"Don't be." Nick said. "That bastard won't be there."  
"I know. Im just worried about his friends."  
"They won't do anything to you knowing who your dad is." Nick winked and Jess rolled her eyes.  
"That didn't stop him dad." Jess said, and her eyes watered.  
"Look don't worry about it." Nick got up to sit next to her. "Your teachers will understand so they will look out for you."  
"Thats just embarrassing though." Jess replied.  
"It will be fine." Nick said as Zoe bought through one of her hot chocolates."  
"Thanks." Jess said, taking it from her. Zoe herself had a glass of wine and was giving one to Nick.  
"We need to go out to the pub again Zo." Nick said.  
"Yeah we do." Zoe replied, and sipped her wine. "What about friday after work? Im sure my mum would take Jess for the night."  
"Hello, I am here?" Jess said.  
"Would you like to go to your grandma's friday night?" Zoe asked. "You wouldn't have to walk home from school because you know her, she would pick you up."  
"Yeah i'll go." Jess said. "I like it at grandmas."  
"Cool." Zoe said. "That gives us a free night." She said to Nick.  
"Ill look fun to getting home on the saturday finding you with a hangover." Jess said to her mother.  
"Hey i'm not that bad." Zoe said.  
"Yeah you are." Nick laughed and agreed with Jess. He got a slap from Zoe.  
"You never complained when I pole danced for you." Zoe said.  
"Gross too much info Mum." Jess shook her head.  
"It gets worse.. she tried to strip."  
"Nick!" Zoe slapped him again.  
"Gross dad!" Jess was laughing. "Alcohol is really that effective huh?"  
"Yeah." Zoe said, annoyed at Nick for telling their daughter that.  
"Im sorry Zo. Just having a bit of fun." Nick laughed and rubbed her knee.  
"I know i'm only joking." Zoe said.  
"I know." Nick said, looking deep into her eyes. He really loved her. She looked at Jess and saw her dazed again.  
"Jess?" Zoe said with concern. Nick looked over at her.  
"Huh?" Jess looked at Zoe. "What?"  
"Are you alright?"  
"Yeah im just thinking about tomorrow." Jess said, and her mother looked at her.  
"Im not going to lie Jess but it willbe nerve wracking." Zoe said. "But it will get better!"  
"You don't know that." Jess whispered. "People will hate me for getting Ryan put in prison."  
"I actually think that they will thank you for that one. They will be grateful that it wasn't them." Zoe said. "If anyone gives you grief, tell someone."  
"I will don't worry." Jess said.  
"I guess you should be getting to bed. Its nearly eleven." Nick said.  
"I won't be able to sleep." Jess muttered.  
"Yeah you will." Zoe smiled.  
"If I don't get nightmares." Jess said before rushing upstairs. Nick and Zoe looked at each other and sighed.

"Why her?" Zoe asked. "She shouldn't be dealing with all this."  
"I know." Nick said. "I wish there was something we could do."  
"Sam suggested therapy." Zoe said. "I think it would really help her."  
"Well, we can ask her. If she doesn't want it, we can't make her go." Nick said.  
"I guess." Zoe said. "We can talk to her later if the nightmares don't stop."  
"Okay." Nick said.

A few minutes later Zoe walked up to Jess's room. She was sitting up in bed reading a book.  
"Reading Harry Potter again?" Zoe laughed, and Jess didn't look up from her book.  
"Yep." She said.  
"You really like that book."  
"No, I really like those books. There is seven of them." Jess smiled. "You should really read them."  
"They aren't my type of thing." Zoe smiled. "Anyway, i've come to say good night."  
"Night mum. Im going to read for a little longer."  
"Okay i'll put your bedside lamp on so you won't have to get up and put off your light switch." Zoe did it and then went back over to Jess. "Sleep well."  
"I'll try my best." Jess said, not looking up from her book.  
"Night." Zoe said and shut Jess's door on her way out.

Jess threw the book down and began to cry. She did this every night. She didn't want to sleep as she knew she would have to remember what happened to her. She looked around as her body wracked with silent sobs as her she didn't want her parents to know.

Her eyes caught sight of her nail scissors on her bedside table. She looked at them, and before she knew what she was doing, she was scratching away at her arms. When she finally got back into her frame of mind, her arms were red and bloody. They weren't bleeding a lot so she got some tissues from her bedside table, wiped them up, then cried herself to sleep.

She woke up in the middle of the night sweating, after hearing a scream. Her bedroom door flew open making her jump.  
"Jess whats the matter? Why did you scream?" Her dad was stood there.  
"I screamed?" Jess said, sitting up and putting on her lamp.  
"Jess you've been crying." Nick said, walking up to her, half asleep.  
"I have?" Jess said and wiped her eyes. She caught sight of her arms and hid them before her dad saw.  
"Yes." He said, wiping a tear off of her face. "Why did you scream?"  
"I, I don't know." Jess sobbed. She surprised herself as she didn't know she was crying.  
"Come here." Nick wrapped his arms around her as Zoe walked in.

She sighed as she saw the sight. Jess had nightmares again. Zoe wiped her eyes to get rid of the sleep and walked over.  
"Go back to bed Nick." Zoe said, seeing he was ready to fall asleep again. "I got this."  
"Okay." Nick sighed and stumbled out of sight.  
"Jess." Zoe said, sitting on her bed.  
"Hmm?" Jess said through sobs.  
"Nightmare?"  
"Uh huh." Jess said, tears increasing. Zoe wrapped her arms around her. "Try and go back to sleep, okay?"  
"I don't want to." Jess shook her head.  
"You need to." Zoe said softy. "Ill stay until you fall asleep."  
"You will?" Jess said, wiping her eyes.  
"Yeah." Zoe said, almost crying herself. She watched Jess settle down.

Zoe gasped as Jess moved her arm in her sleep, and Zoe could see the scratches. This made her cry. She left Jess to it, and went to seek comfort from Nick.

"Nick." Zoe sniffed as she cuddled up to him.  
"Hmm?" He said, waking up a bit after hearing her upset.  
"Jess cut herself." Zoe said.  
"What?" Nick was awake then.  
"I saw it. On her arm." Zoe sobbed.  
"Were they deep?"  
"No. Scratches." Zoe said.  
"Oh." Nick said. "I think we had better talk to her a bit sooner about therapy."  
"Not too soon. Let her get settled back at school before we do that."  
"Alright. Lets just go to sleep and sort this out in the morning." Nick suggested. "Stop crying."  
"Sorry." Zoe said. "You're right. Lets sleep."  
"Okay." Nick said, and hugged Zoe so she fell asleep safe and sound.


	26. Chapter 26

Zoe woke up the next morning feeling quite groggy from being up in the middle of the night. She turned off the alarm and woke Nick up before going for a quick shower.

Nick went to wake Jess up and found her with her arms splayed out. He could see what Zoe meant about the scratches.  
"Come on Jess wakey wakey." Nick said. "Get dressed and there will be a nice cup of tea waiting for you downstairs."  
"Okay okay." Jess said getting up. Then she realised that her arms were on show. She mentally kicked herself for not hiding the scratches well enough. She knew that her dad had seen them.

She got on her uniform and went downstairs where Nick stayed true to his word. There was a cup of tea waiting. She sat down at the table next to her father and her mother came to sit down after her.  
"Jess." Zoe said, sitting next to her. "We would like to talk to you..."

Jess looked scared all of a sudden.  
"You saw them didn't you?" Jess said, eyes watering, and let a tear out as she saw Zoe nod.  
"Why?" Zoe asked.  
"I don't know." Jess said. "One minute i'm sitting there, the next i have marks." She began to sob.  
"Don't cry." Zoe said, walking over to hug her.  
"I don't even know why I do it." Jess cried. "I didnt even realise what I had done until afterwards."  
"Don't worry about it now." Zoe sat back down.  
"We did need to talk to you about this." Nick said. "How would you feel about... seeing a therapist?"

Jess began to laugh and cry at the same time.  
"You think... you actually think that I, I need therapy?" Anger took over.  
"Jess we just think that-"  
"I don't need therapy!" Jess said. "I don't need it."  
"Jess please just-" Zoe tried to say.  
"No." Jess said.  
"Jess."  
"No!" She shouted and drank her tea. "No."  
"The nightmares..."  
"What about them?!" Jess said. "I will live with them. Im not mad..." Jess cried. "I don't need therapy!"  
"Cutting won't solve anything!"  
"I DON'T NEED THERAPY." Jess said. "Do I need to spell it out for you?"

Zoe and Nick stayed quiet while they finished their breakfast. Jess stood up and went to brush her teeth.  
"She really doesn't want therapy huh." Nick said, feeling a bit guilty.  
"No." Zoe said. "But I know who can convince her."  
"Who?"  
"Sam." Zoe said. "Sam had... that problem."  
"She did?"  
"Yes." Zoe said. "Ill ask Sam if Jess can stay at hers on Friday night."  
"Good idea." Nick said, and went to get ready.

Jess got into the car with her parents and didn't say a word. They got to the school.  
"Have a good day darling." Zoe said, and got a slam of a door for a reply. Zoe sighed.  
"She will come round." Nick said. "Especially when Sam is done with her."  
"You make it sound like shes going to get shouted at." Zoe said.  
"Sam wouldn't do that. She has experience and knows how someone would handle it." Nick said as they pulled up at the ED. Zoe saw Sam just running in.

"Sam!" Zoe shouted.  
"Hey Zo." Sam said, walking up to her.  
"Can I ask for a favour?..." Zoe asked, hoping the answer would be yes.  
"Yeah sure. What is it?"  
"Well its a problem i'm having with Jess." Zoe said as they walking in to the ED.  
"Oh whats wrong?" Sam asked, seeing the concern on Zoe's face.  
"We noticed some scratches on the insides of her arms.." Zoe said quietly.  
"Oh you're kidding." Sam sighed. "Thats not good for a girl her age."  
"Well we asked her about therapy and she went balistic." Zoe said. "She thought that we thought she was going mad."  
"Oh no bless her!"  
"So I was wondering if... you would be her therapist?" Zoe said. "Me and Nick were planning on going out on Friday night and thought maybe she could spend the night at yours..."  
"Sure i'd be glad to have her." Sam said. "I will talk to her after school for you." Sam said.  
"Thank you." Zoe said. "I really appreciate it."  
"Its nothing." Sam said.  
"I came to you because well I knew that you used to have the same... problem and I thought you would know what to do..."  
"I know Zoe." Sam smiled. "I'll talk to her."  
"Thanks so much."  
"Its fine." Sam smiled.

"So what did Sam say?" Nick asked Zoe as she walked into the staff room at lunch.  
"She will talk to her after school and have her friday night." Zoe told him.  
"Thats good." Nick said. "But she has to convince her first."  
"I don't think it will be that hard..." Zoe said, and looked at Nick.  
"Hmm." Nick said, as they ate lunch and got back to work.

Sam walked into the staff room in the afternoon to find Jess there, and she knew she would have to talk to her.  
"How was your first day back at school?" Sam asked and Jess shrugged her shoulders. "Whats wrong?"  
"Nothing." Jess said.  
"You mother told me about this morning." Sam said, and Jess looked at her with watery eyes.  
"Look. I don't know what she has been telling you, but I don't need a therapist." Jess said. "I don't care what you say. Im not seeing one. I don't need it."  
"Jess I can help you."  
"No you can't." Jess said.  
"Look. I know what you are going through.."  
"How on earth do you know what I'm going through? You aren't me!" Jess continued to shout at Sam and Sam slowly rolled up her sleeves. "I didn't even mean to do this! I don't even know how, or when, but I don't... need a..." She trailed off as she saw the scars on Sams arms. They were a lot worse than her own.  
"I told you I knew what you were going through." Sam said, and Jess looked at her arms in shock.


	27. Chapter 27

"You...you self harmed?" Jess stood there, gob smacked at the state of Sam's arms. Sam nodded to her. "When?"  
"When I was younger." Sam said. "I got into a lot of trouble..."  
"What... what sort of trouble?" Jess said, reducing her voice to a whisper.  
"Drugs... underage drinking..." Sam told her, thinking about her past and trying not to cry herself. "Its not good Jess, self harm."  
"I know but I don't even realise i'm doing it." Jess began to cry.  
"Don't cry. Look. I will help you." Sam said and Jess looked up at her.  
"How can you help me?" Jess asked in a whisper.  
"You're not going to your grandma's this friday night. You are coming round to mine." Sam smiled.  
"I am?" Jess looked up in confusion. "But why?"  
"So I can talk to you." Sam said. "You know, have some girl time..."  
"Did mum get you to be my therapist?"  
"Well... yes. She thinks that if its someone you know then..."  
"I get it."  
"Plus I understand what you are doing." Sam said. "Does it sound like a plan?"  
"I guess so." Jess said, looking at Sam's arms again. They were making her feel sick. Sam saw her facial expression.  
"Sorry." Sam said, covering her arms.  
"Its fine." Jess said in a whisper again.  
"So you will come here after school on friday and you will go home with me. Alright?" Sam told her and Jess nodded. "Now don't worry about it. I will help you Jess."  
"Okay." Jess said, playing with her hands in her lap and staring at them.  
"Im serious." Sam said, making Jess look at her again. "We will get to the bottom of this."  
"Okay." Jess said, still not looking completely convinced.

Zoe walked in to the staff room to find Jess and Sam talking.  
"Hi." Jess said to her mother. Zoe waved back at her.  
"I'll go." Sam said, and left the room.  
"So are you ready to go?" Zoe asked as she got her bag out of her locker.  
"Im sorry." Jess said.  
"You what?" Zoe giggled slightly.  
"Im sorry." Jess said, raising her voice in confidence.  
"For what?" Zoe asked, walking over and was surprised when Jess flung her arms around her.  
"For shouting at you." Jess cried. "I know you were only trying to help."  
"We were." Zoe said. "We only wanted the best for you." She wrapped her arms around Jess tightly as Jess cried.

Nick burst in a few minutes later.  
"Come on i've been waiting for-" He stopped as he saw them both. They pulled apart at the interruption and Jess ran over and wrapped her arms around him.  
"Im sorry." She said.  
"Don't be." Nick said and held her tight. "Come on we had better be getting home."

They all got into the car and Jess got into the back. She stared out the window like she always did.  
"Good day back at school?" Nick asked. Jess nodded and wiped her tears away. Nick didn't want to ask as he already knew. "Do anything fun?"  
"No dad. Its school." She said, voice thick with tears. Zoe turned around in her seat to look at her.  
"Don't cry Jess." Zoe looked at her sadly through the seat.  
"I just feel bad." Jess said. She shouted at her parents and now she felt guilty.  
"Don't." Zoe said sympathetically.  
"But I worry you for weeks and now this." Jess said. "What daughter screams at their parents?"  
"We know why you did." Zoe said. "We know that you didn't want to see a therapist but we kept asking."  
"No." Jess said. "I didn't because I wouldn't know them. But Sam...It would be better with Sam."  
"Thats why I asked her." Zoe said. "You seem to be good friends with her so I thought you would talk to her."  
"You thought right." Jess smiled and wiped her eyes. "I can't wait till friday."  
"But you were so excited to see your grandma." Zoe said.  
"I can see her another day. Its not everyday you go to Sam's house." Jess laughed and wiped her face again.  
"I guess not." Zoe smiled.

Friday soon came and Jess was sat in the staff room playing on her phone. She was waiting for Sam. While she waited, she looked at her arms. After talking to Sam, she had another slip up and woke up in the morning with more scratches, but deeper ones. As she thought about it, she began to get anxious.

Sam walked in anhour later ready to go.  
"You ready?" She saw Jess looked nervous.  
"Yeah." Jess said, acting confident but Sam knew deep down that she wasn't.  
"Are you alright?"  
"Yeah why?" Jess asked as she waved at her parents who were in reception.  
"You look... nervous." Sam said.  
"I am." Jess admitted.  
"Why?"  
"Im just worried." Jess said.  
"What about?" Sam asked.  
"Just talking about it." Jess shrugged. "It was hard enough the first time."  
"I understand." Sam said as they walked onto the street. "It was hard for me too. But i'm hoping I can make it a bit easier for you."  
"Okay." Jess said, and they continued to talk until they arrived at Sam's flat.

**(Sorry its short. I don't know where this is going yet.)**


	28. Chapter 28

Sams flat was small and was the perfect size for two people. It was neat and tidy, and was decorated with the same colour theme - beige. Sam saw Jess smile as she walked in.  
"You like?" Sam asked, seeing Jess look around.  
"Yeah." Jess said. "I don't think i've ever seen a place so tidy."  
"Well, I don't need a lot to keep me occupied." Sam said. "A laptop and a TV just about does it."  
"Oh right." Jess said, wandering into a room that looked to be the living room. There was a huge television and a coffee table. The carpet was a fluffy beige colour and the sofa was leather. There was an armchair with similar style to the sofa, so it matched. There was also book shelves all up the wall that were full of DVD's. "Woah.." Jess said, seeing them.  
"What?" Sam asked after taking off her shoes.  
"So many DVD's!" Jess said, and she spotted the Harry Potter box set. "Okay thats my favourite."  
"You like harry potter?" Sam asked.  
"Yeah!" Jess said, and showed Sam the necklace she was wearing. "Look."  
"Ah, the deathly hallows symbol." Sam nodded.  
"Yeah." Jess said. "I love it."  
"Make yourself comfy." Sam said. "Ill go and take your bag upstairs to the spare room."  
"Okay." Jess said and sat on the sofa. She looked around until Sam came back downstairs.  
"You can put the TV on." Sam laughed, and Jess smiled. Jess clicked on the TV. "We will get sorted in a minute. Im just going to order pizza. Whats your favourite?"  
"Anythings fine." Jess said.  
"Pick one."  
"Um..." Jess deliberated. "Pepperoni."  
"Great. My favourite!" Sam said and went to grab her laptop and order through the internet. Jess had found The Fresh Prince of Bel Air on the TV and was happily watching it.

"Pizza is ordered, so shall we make a start?" Sam asked and Jess took a deep breath.  
"Sure." Jess said shakily.  
"Start with the first time you did this." Sam pointed to her arms. She saw Jess exhale.  
"Well i've only done it twice." Jess said. "Well, I waited for my mum to go downstairs after saying night, and I was reading... I put down the book and I started to cry."  
"Why did you start to cry?" Sam asked.  
"Because I didn't want to sleep. I would get... nightmares." Sam saw that Jess got upset just telling the story. "I looked at my bedside table and saw my nail scissors and something told me to just do it. I didn't even realise what I had done until afterwards." A tear slipped down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. Sam felt for her, she really did.  
"So you did it without thinking?" Jess nodded. "Okay. Want to know my story?"  
"If you want to tell me." Jess said.  
"I do. It makes it easier telling someone." Sam said.  
"Okay."  
"Well, my parents weren't the best, always going out drinking and I kind of followed on I guess. Then, one night, someone drugged my drink." Sam explained.  
"You're kidding." Jess said, shocked.  
"Nope." Sam said. "I ended up passing out on a strangers bed and waking up in hospital. Turned out i'd been raped."  
"Oh." Jess was speechless.  
"You handled it a lot better than me though." Sam said. "I stole a scalpel and cut deep."  
"Did you?" Jess whispered.  
"Yeah." Sam said. "I lost a lot of blood as I hit arteries."  
"Oh." Jess replied. She didn't have anything to say.  
"Yeah." Sam said. "It wasn't nice. From then on, I kept doing it. Couldn't stop."  
"You couldn't?" Sam could see she had scared Jess.  
"Then my parents sent me to a therapist." Sam explained. "I didn't want to go."  
"Like me." Jess took a deep breath.  
"Yes, like you." Sam said. "But I went, and it wasn't bad at all. I felt a lot better and the self harm stopped."  
"It did?"  
"Yes." Sam said. "I was hoping you agreed to talk to me as I didn't want you growing up with scars on your arms that were bad." Jess was speechless again. "So i'm hoping that you will open up a bit more. Maybe we can stop the nightmares." Jess took a shakey breath.

The doorbell went and Jess sighed in relief. She wouldn't have to tell her story just yet.  
"Ah! Pizza!" Sam said, rubbing her hands together. She jumped up and went to collect it. She walked back in with a large pizza, which they shared.

Sam couldn't help but notice Jess's eyes water every so often, as if she was thinking about certain things that made her want to cry. If that was the case, she was very good at hiding her emotions.

They finished their pizza and got back to talking.  
"Jess, I know that you don't want to talk about this - I can see it on your face - but I think it will help you a lot if you tell me what happened that night you got attacked." Sam said softly. Jess gulped.  
"I, uh, I don't know if I can." Jess said, putting her hand through her hair. Sam put her hand on Jess's knee. "It will be fine."  
"Okay." Jess said, and began to explain her story.

Meanwhile, Zoe and Nick were at the pub, and Zoe was downing more drinks than she could handle as per usual.  
"Zoe, I think you've had enough." Nick warned as Zoe was giggling uncontrollably for no reason.  
"No I haven't." She said, waving over the bartender who gave her another shot. She downed it again much to Nicks annoyance. "Come on!" She stood up and walked over to the middle of the floor and began dancing. She took Nicks hand and spun around but Nick just laughed at her.  
"Zoe." Nick said.  
"What!?" Zoe shouted. "Come on!"  
"Zoe..." Nick said, laughing even harder. He could see she was trying to dance but she was wobbling all over the place.  
"Nick..." Zoe said, grabbing his other hand and pulling and pushing him. She was giggling still for no reason which was making Nick laugh. No one really noticed them, and Nick was happy, as they were all a bit squiffy themselves.  
"Zoe, i'm serious. Im going to get youa glass of water." He said, letting go.  
"Nah! Don't need no water! Wouldn't mind another shot though!" She slurred. Nick sighed and went to get the water.

He came back and he couldn't find her. He looked everywhere, and then thought about the bathroom. He got someone to go in and find her, and sure enough, she was throwing up. The woman bought her out and she stumbled into Nicks arms.  
"Thank you." He thanked the woman. "Zoe?"  
"What?" She slurred into his chest.  
"Lets get you home." Nick said.  
"No! More drink!" Zoe shouted and Nick laughed.  
"I think you have had enough." He lead her outside and down to the car. Nick had been responsible so he could still drive them home. She fell asleep in the car on the way home.


	29. Chapter 29

Nick woke up the next morning and the first thing he did was look at Zoe. He could see she was uneasy in sleep, and he tutted. He decided to wake her he could give her some painnkillers as she probably needed them.  
"Zoe, Zo wake up." Nick said and laughed when she groaned and pushed him off with a feeble attempt. "Come on Zo. Up." She opened her eyes and glared at him. "I'll get you some painkillers."

He went downstairs and grabbed a glass of water and filled it, then went to get the paracetamol from the cupboard. He walked upstairs to find Zoe asleep again. He sighed.  
"Zoe?" Nick said and shook her again. "Zoe."  
"What." She murmured into her pillow.  
"Here." She looked up and took the pain killers gratefully. She began to gulp down the whole glass. "Slower." Nick told her. She glared again.  
"You said you wouldn-" She croaked and cleared her throat to make her voice clearer. "You said you wouldn't let me drink too much."  
"I tried my best but you weren't having any of it." Nick said. "I had to get someone to get you out of the loo's!"  
"Oh god." Zoe said clutching her head. "Was I that bad?" Nick nodded at her. "I don't think i've ever had a headache this bad."  
"Im not surprised." Nick said. "Downing shot after shot after shot after shot..."  
"Shut up." Zoe said, drinking the last of the water. "I mean it." Nick put his hands up.  
"Alright alright." Nick said. "I'll leave you alone."  
"No don't." Zoe whispered and Nick laughed.  
"Im joking." He sat next to her and hugged her. Zoe pushed him off but he wouldn't let go.  
"Nick, I suggest you let go. You don't want me throwing up on you." Nick let go and ran after Zoe. He held her hair back while she was bending over the toilet and throwing up everything from last night. "God." Nick shook his head while he waited for Zoe to finish. She looked up at him and really did look worse for the wear.  
"Now that you have had the pain killers, I suggest going back to bed." Nick said, leading her over.  
"No I need to pick up Jess."  
"No. I'll do it." Nick said. "You sleep off the hangover."  
"Okay." Zoe replied and Nick left her in the bedroom. He grabbed his car keys and got in his car before driving up to Sam's flat.

Sam answered the door and invited him in and sat on the sofa. Jess walked down the stairs with her bag while Sam handed Nick a cup of coffee and Jess a cup of tea.  
"Hey dad." Jess said. "Did you know, Sam makes better tea than Big Mac?" Nick laughed.  
"Does she?" Jess nodded. "Well I know where to go to get a good cup of tea then." Sam laughed at him. "So did you have a good time?"  
"Yeah." Jess said. "We ordered pizza and everything." Nick could see Jess had cheered up a lot.

"Now have you got everything Jess?" Nick asked. Jess thought for a second.  
"Oh wait!" She ran up the stairs.  
"Did she have any nightmares?" Nick asked Sam while Jess was upstairs.  
"No she didn't." Sam said, and Nick raised his eyebrows.  
"Really? You must be a good therapist. She hasn't ever gone a night without nightmares." Nick said.  
"Oh, right." No one but Jess knew the real reason. Zoe thought she self harmed because of a bad childhood, but never knew it was the same as Jess.  
"How did you do it?" Nick asked, and Sam was a bit taken aback.  
"Secret." Sam said, and winked at him, and was glad when Jess came running down the stairs.  
"I thought I had forgotten my book but I have it." Jess said. "Thats everything."  
"Alright. We had better get going." Nick said.  
"Where's mum? She was supposed to pick me up."  
"Oh." Nick laughed.  
"Let me guess? She over did it?" Jess laughed when Nick nodded.  
"Is she alright?" Sam asked, giggling a little.  
"Yeah just a bad headache." Nick said, and they walked out of the door. "Thanks for having her."  
"It was a pleasure." Sam said and waved them off. "Bye."

Back at the house, Jess ran upstairs to her bedroom and dumped her bag on her bed. She looked into her parents room and saw Zoe sleeping. She wanted to talk about her day but didn't want to wake her, so she walked downstairs and put on a Harry Potter film, much to Nicks dislike.

When the film had finished, Nick and Jess heard footsteps slowly making their way down the stairs. Jess was to engrossed with putting the DVD back in the box to notice.  
"Heres Miss Hangover." Nick smirked. "Hows your head?"  
"Pounding, thanks." Zoe said, and plopped herself down next to Nick. "How was it at Sam's?"  
"Good. Fun!" Jess said.  
"What did you do?"  
"Talked for ages, ordered Pizza, watched TV..." Jess said. "I liked it."  
"Great." Zoe looked at Nick and mouthed 'nightmares?' and was impressed when Nick shook his head. "So you wouldn't mind going to Sam's again?"  
"Nope. I liked it." Jess smiled and put the DVD case away. "It was great."  
"Cool." Zoe said, and squeezed her eyes shut.  
"You alright?" Nick asked, and Zoe looked a him.  
"Im hungover. What do you think?"  
"Okay I just asked." Nick said and raised an eyebrow at Jess who laughed.  
"Jess, please quiet." Zoe said, putting her hand up.  
"Sorry." Jess said and tried to laugh quietly.  
"What are we doing this afternoon?" Nick asked.  
"Im staying in." Zoe said wiping her forehead. "I feel like crap."  
"Understandable." Nick said. "You have any plans Jess?"  
"I was going to have Emily over but now I think I should go to hers." Zoe nodded.  
"I don't want anyone else here." Zoe said and Jess rolled her eyes.  
"I will go to hers then." Jess shrugged.  
"And I will help you get better." Nick said and winked at Zoe when Jess wasn't looking.  
"Sure you will." Zoe smiled mischieviously and ticked Nick.

The family had a fun day. They hadn't had one of those for a while. The therapy sessions with Sam continued after Jess finished school for the day and they met up in the staff room. The nightmares only come to Jess now every once in a while, but it would be a while before they stopped completely. She had recovered from the shooting completely and was settled in again at school. The therapy had helped with her self harm a lot, and hardly ever did it after Sam told her story.

**(Thats the end! Sorry! I didn't know where else to take this as it was getting quite long already...Make sure to follow me as an author if you liked this story as I hope you will like my others! This O.C will be in most of them...)**


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